


i loved you then (i love you now)

by marriedzukka



Category: Avatar: The Last Airbender
Genre: Bisexual Sokka (Avatar), Childhood Friends to Lovers, Fluff, Gay Zuko (Avatar), Happy Ending, Highschool AU, M/M, Past Jet/Zuko (Avatar), Past Sokka/Suki (Avatar), Past Sokka/Yue (Avatar), Past minor character death, Underage Drinking, and they were childhood friends..., artist sokka, mentions of abuse, musician zuko, no beta we die like jet, omg they were childhood friends, ozai rot in hell challenge, speaking of jet he's a jerk in this one and i apologize for that in advance, theyre both idiots but you already knew this, zuko and sokka are seniors in hs
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-27
Updated: 2020-12-10
Packaged: 2021-03-09 23:20:26
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 29,230
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27744385
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/marriedzukka/pseuds/marriedzukka
Summary: It’s been 8 years since Sokka’s seen Zuko, his childhood best friend. But now that they find themselves in the same place at the same time again, they have to reckon with what's changed since then, and inevitably, what has not.
Relationships: Sokka/Zuko (Avatar)
Comments: 56
Kudos: 207





	1. One

**Author's Note:**

> Zukka nation we ride at dawn

Sokka’s phone alarm jolts him awake, and he sits up with a start, bumping his head on the ceiling of his car.

“Ughf,” he grunts, rubbing his head, and then rubbing his eyes as he tries to wake up. He checks his phone and reads the alarm message. **_[7:40am: WAKE UP IDIOT OR YOU’LL BE LATE FOR SCHOOL]._** Luckily for him, he's already sitting in the school parking lot. Finally having a license and his own car was great now that he was a senior in high school, but sometimes that also meant driving his sister to swim practice at 6 in the goddamn morning two days a week even if he wanted to sleep in so...it had its drawbacks.

He checks his phone again and does a mental calculation of how much time he has before school starts, sighing in frustration when he realizes that it’s not enough time to grab coffee before going inside. He searches for his headphones in his backpack and plugs them into his phone, pressing play on a recent playlist he'd made. He shivers a bit as he steps out into the cool air, the autumn season quickly approaching. He quickly ties his hair up into a top pony, and throws on his cross-body backpack before heading inside. Suki is there waiting for him, having saved him a seat next to her as usual.

“Good morning, sunshine,” she teases.

“Shut up,” he answers, throwing his backpack on his desk. He slinks down into the chair and folds his arms over the bag to lay his head down.

Suki smiles. “Maybe this will help?”

She holds out a small iced coffee towards Sokka and he takes it, quickly taking a long sip. “Agni _bless you_ , Suki.”

She laughs and they start a casual conversation about their morning so far and plans for the day as the rest of the class slowly trickles in. Sokka barely registers the sound of the classroom door opening, but his interest is piqued when he hears their teacher mumbling to someone about a new student transfer. It’s only when Sokka hears the other party answer, that he is suddenly VERY interested. It couldn’t be…

“Welcome to East Ember High…” The teacher pauses as if to ask the student to share their name.

“Zuko,” he replies. “Zuko Sozin.”

Sokka practically spits out his coffee on Suki, who looks shocked at his reaction. He looks up at the front of the room now and he’s definitely staring, mouth agape at the sight in front of him. This can’t be real. But it is...it’s _Zuko_ ….HIS childhood best friend Zuko, who he hasn’t seen or heard from in years. He’s taller, leaner, and his dark hair has grown out and fallen over his eyes. Most notably, there’s something different about him - a large scar, covering a good portion of the left side of his face.

_Huh, that’s new._

“Very well Mr. Sozin," the teacher answers. "Please take a seat and we’ll get on with our day.”

Sokka feels like his entire body is on fire. Or frozen in ice. He isn’t sure. He just knows that his world has turned on its axis and it’s only 8:00am. As Zuko turns to walk towards the desks, his eyes land on Sokka and he freezes instantly, likely having the same stunned reaction that Sokka was just experiencing moments ago. Sokka gives a shy smile and raises a hand to gently wave. Zuko just stands there, seemingly frozen to the spot.

“Ahem,” the teacher coughs. “Mr. Sozin, if you please, we have a lot to do today.”

Zuko snaps out of it. “Yeah, sorry.” He quickly heads towards the other side of the room where there’s an empty seat and sits down. Suki nudges Sokka in the arm, hard, and just gives him a look to say _what the fuck?_ Sokka mouths, _“Long story, I’ll explain later.”_ Suki nods and takes a look over at where Zuko is sitting, curiosity getting the better of her.

Sokka can’t help but feel jittery for the rest of the period, and keeps sneaking peeks over at Zuko whenever he can. He doesn’t want to make it too obvious, but he also can’t help himself. This was _Zuko_ for God's sake, right here. In the flesh. More than once, he tries to take a peek and finds Zuko already looking over at him. Sokka turns away quickly and wills his ears not to turn beet red.

When the bell rings later to signal the end of the period, Sokka is the first one to finish packing his stuff. He nods at Suki, and before he even has time to second guess himself, he walks over to Zuko.

“Long time no see!”

Zuko smiles to himself and then looks up at Sokka, flicking some of his hair out of his eyes. “Hey, Sokka.”

Sokka had forgotten just how _golden_ Zuko’s eyes were. _(Who is he kidding, he could have never forgotten that)._

Sokka smiles in relief. “I can’t believe you’re really here, I mean what has it been, like 7 years?”

“Eight,” Zuko says matter-of-factly. Like he’s been keeping count.

“Shit,” Sokka replies. “I really never thought I’d see you again. This is wild.”

Zuko’s hand lifts to rub the back of his neck, suddenly looking shy. “Yeah, we just moved here. Me and Azula. With our Uncle.”

“Oh, cool,” Sokka replies, unsure of what to really say to that. In the back of his mind he’s already forming a lot of questions... _what happened to your parents?_ He vaguely remembers Zuko’s mom being sick when they were kids. _But what about your dad? And how the hell did you get that scar?_

Sokka’s torn from his thoughts when the warning bell rings above them, startling them both. “We better get going,” Zuko remarks, and then sighs. “But I don’t even know where I’m supposed to go next.”

“I can help you,” Sokka offers. “Do you know what teacher you have next?”

Zuko squints at him for a moment, pondering something he doesn’t say, but then hands over his class list to Sokka. Sokka eyes it over and laughs. “Well, good news is, we have at least 2 other classes together this semester. Bad news, both of those teachers suck.”

Zuko smiles. “I’m sure I’ve had worse.”

“Highly doubt that,” Sokka replies. “But anyway, it looks like your next class is actually just right up the hall, last door on the left. And then after that I’ll see you in biology. It’s in the next building over, first door on the right.”

“Simple enough,” Zuko says, taking back the paper from Sokka. “Thanks.”

They both begin to walk out of the room when Sokka speaks up again. “You know, it looks like your lunch period was the same as mine, too. And Katara has the same lunch as we do, so you’ll get to say hi, if you want.”

Zuko smiles. “Yeah, I’d like that.”

“Alright, cool.”

“...Cool.”

The air is awkward and tense around them for a moment, until Sokka snaps out of it. “Right. See you in a bit!” and turns on his heels, walking in the opposite direction as fast as his feet will take him.

* * *

His next class is study hall, THANK GOD, because he has to text Katara immediately. He pulls his phone out as the teacher snoozes at the desk, but before he can draft up a text to his sister, he sees that he already has multiple texts from her.

[8:30 a.m] katara: **HOLY SHIT**

[8:30 a.m] katara: **YOU WILL NEVER BELIEVE WHO I JUST SAW IN THE HALLWAY**

[8:31 a.m] katara: **AZULA. FREAKING. SOZIN!!**

[8:45 a.m] katara: **please answer me im losing my mind over here!!!**

Sokka laughs to himself and quickly replies.

**Sorry lol I was distracted** [9:00 am]

[9:01 a.m.] katara: **by WHAT? You hate homeroom**

**Oh, idk, maybe the fact that ZUKO was there** [9:02 a.m.]

[9:03 a.m.] katara: **NO FUCKING WAY OMG**

**Yupppp. He has lunch period with us so you can say hi then** [9:04 a.m.]

[9:05 a.m.] katara: **this is crazy.**

**Tell me about it** [9:06 a.m.]

The rest of study hall would have usually gone agonizingly slow, but Suki was there and drilling him with questions about Zuko.

“He’s...an old friend,” Sokka explains.

Suki squints her eyes at him suspiciously. “An old...friend. Right. From where you guys lived before moving here?”

“Yeah, we all went to the same elementary school together. I met him in first grade and then I moved here a few years later. We were good friends. Best friends, actually.”

“Oh,” Suki answers. “So you haven’t seen or spoken to him since then?”

“Nope,” Sokka says. “We were so young then, there wasn’t really a way to keep in touch once we moved. And I tried looking him up online a few times but nothing ever came up.”

“Hmm,” Suki says, nodding. “He’s cute.”

Sokka tries to hide the blush forming on his cheeks and hopes that Suki doesn’t notice. “Sure, Suki,” and in an effort to change the subject, he says, “So do you want to try to beat my record in staff stacking, or what?”

Suki shakes her head and smiles. “Obviously, and I’m gonna kick your ass this time.” For the next 30 minutes, the two of them attempt to stack as many items as they can on the teacher who is asleep at the desk in front of the classroom. The game was one that Sokka had come up with one day while extremely bored in study hall, and since then whenever the teacher falls asleep, the two of them play. Sokka’s record was 30 items, mostly paperclips or sticky notes, but Suki beats him this time when she manages to place an entire textbook on the teacher’s shoulders without him noticing.

Soon enough the bell rings and Sokka practically bolts out of the room to head towards biology class. He finds an empty table and prays to God that Zuko shows up soon so he doesn’t have to awkwardly tell anyone that he’s saving the seat for someone in particular, like some kind of _dork_. A couple minutes later, Zuko walks into the room, clearly looking for Sokka and gives a small smile of relief when he sees him. He first walks over to their teacher and introduces himself before coming over and sitting on the stool next to Sokka.

“Hey,” Sokka says.

“Hey,” Zuko replies.

“So, uh, how was your last class? Did you find the place okay?”

“It was like 20 feet away.”

_Duh, Sokka. Stop being an idiot._

“Right, yeah, I know,” Sokka says, mentally smacking himself in the forehead. “I just meant, like, how did the class go?”

“Not bad, actually. It was literature. Mostly poetry.”

“Hm,” Sokka huffs. “I’m more of a science/math guy, but that’s good.”

“Guess I picked a good partner for his class then,” Zuko says, a sly smile forming on his lips.

Sokka smiles back. “I guess so.”

* * *

Katara approaches them in the cafeteria with a huge smile on her face.

“Zuko! It’s so good to see you!” She moves to sit next to Sokka, who’s sitting across from Zuko at the table.

“You too, Katara,” Zuko replies. “It’s been awhile.”

“It certainly has. I saw your sister earlier too, she looked-”

“What?” Zuko questioned.

“Well,” Katara starts, unsure of herself, “she looked mad honestly.”

“Mm,” Zuko agrees. “That’s normal for her.”

“O...kay,” Katara answers. Sokka makes a mental note to try to stay out of Azula’s way for as long as possible. Katara keeps talking.

“How’s your first day going so far?”

Zuko takes a bite out of grilled cheese and shrugs. “It’s been alright.”

“Just alright?” she questions. Sokka shoots her a look but she doesn’t look at him.

“Yeah," Zuko answers. "I mean, starting a new school during senior year isn’t exactly ideal so...it’s a lot to get used to. But...it hasn’t all been bad.”

He meets Sokka’s eyes then, just for a moment, and Sokka smiles slightly. Zuko returns the smile and goes back to eating, shaking his head slightly in disbelief. Sokka can feel his sister watching him but he doesn’t look at her, and tries to hide his smile by shoving more food into his face.

He still can’t believe it. Zuko...here. Sitting across from him. Smiling at him, looking...well. _Suki is right,_ he thinks. _He’s cute._

 _Shit_.

* * *

When the school day ends, Sokka and Katara are walking out to his car when they see Zuko waiting outside. Sokka waves, and tries to ignore the way he feels butterflies at seeing him. "Hey, Zuko!"

Zuko walks over and Katara speaks up. "Do you need a ride home?"

Sokka looks at her with surprise but Zuko speaks up before he can say anything. 

"No, I drove. Just waiting on Azula."

"Right, duh," Katara says. 

"Do you...want us to wait with you?" Sokka asks, instantly feeling like an idiot the second the words are out of his mouth. 

Zuko laughs. (It sounds nice, Sokka thinks). "No, I think I'm good. But thanks."

Sokka tries to brush it off, and Katara is already walking away towards his car. "Right, no problem," he continues. "All good...So I guess we'll uhh, see you tomorrow?" 

"I suppose so," Zuko replies.

"Okay then. Good talk...bye."

And with that, Sokka is walking away from him and feeling like an idiot for the second time today, but stops when he hears Zuko call out. "Hey, Sokka wait."

Sokka turns to see Zuko jogging over to him, and Zuko speaks up. "Hand me your phone."

"I...what?" Sokka questions.

"Just let me see your phone, please? It'll be quick."

Sokka wordlessly hands it over, and watches intently as Zuko opens up his contacts. After typing something in, he hands it back over to Sokka.

"There, now you have my number. You can text me later, I mean, if you want to. Maybe we can catch up."

"Oh," Sokka says, mind reeling. "Cool, thanks. I uhh, I will." He pauses for a moment and with quiet sincerity, he continues. "It's really good to see you, Zuko."

Zuko smiles and nods, and Sokka watches as he walks back towards the school. 

Senior year was about to get _very_ interesting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	2. Two

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys try to navigate their newfound friendship.

That night, Zuko lays in his bed staring up at the ceiling, trying to wrap his mind around the fact that _Sokka Piandao_ , of all people, has just wandered back into his life. His mind flashes back to walking into class for the first time and the moment when everything shifted. He stared for a moment because _there was no way._ But it was him... _Sokka_. Sure, he was much older now, but he’d recognize that wolf’s tail and goofy smile anywhere. Inevitably, his mind wanders back even further to the last time they were together.

> _Eight year old Zuko climbed the rungs of the ladder to the top of the tree house and got settled, pulling a snack out of his backpack to eat while he waited for Sokka to show up. One day while walking home from school with his sister, Sokka had discovered the abandoned tree house and couldn’t wait to show it to Zuko the next day after school. That became their routine, practically every day since first grade: they would meet here after school and play. Sometimes Katara would join them if Sokka let her. Sometimes Azula would threaten to burn it down if they didn’t let her join them too. But most days, it was just the two of them._
> 
> _Zuko was feeling good, because it was Friday. The sun was starting to set and there was a warm spring breeze blowing in his hair. The golden pink sun rays shone through the open window of the tree house and onto him, and he sighed happily. He loved weekends the most, because that was when he could spend the most time with his friends. If he was lucky, Azula wouldn’t show up and bother them. If he was luckier, his father wouldn’t be home when he got back._
> 
> _A few minutes passed and he started to wonder what was taking Sokka so long. Maybe he was just trying to ditch Katara. Or maybe he forgot. No, definitely not. Sokka would never forget._
> 
> _He waited a few more minutes, and just when he started to pack up his things to leave and go look for Sokka, he heard someone coming up the ladder._
> 
> _Sokka’s wolf’s tail appeared first, bobbing as he climbed the ladder. He saw Zuko and said quietly, “Hey. Sorry I’m late.”_
> 
> _“S’ok.” Zuko mumbled. “What happened?”_
> 
> _Sokka stepped inside and sat down, starting to fidget with the hem of his shirt. “I have to tell you something. And you’re not gonna like it.”_
> 
> _“Okay...shoot.”_
> 
> _Sokka sighed deeply and looked at him, sadness in his eyes._ _“We’re moving.”_
> 
> _Even at eight years old, Zuko understood. His entire world was about to change._
> 
> _“Oh.”_
> 
> _“Yeah,” Sokka said, dejected. “My dad told us today. He said he got a new job and we have to leave soon. We are going far away.”_
> 
> _Zuko’s mind was reeling. “When?”_
> 
> _“I don’t know,” Sokka answered. “But he told me that I couldn’t be out long, because we have to start packing.”_
> 
> _Zuko started to feel tears pricking at the edges of his eyes and he wasn't really sure what to do about that. Somehow Sokka could sense his sadness too. Out of the corner of his eye he saw his friend scoot closer to him on the floor. An arm draped over Zuko’s shoulders and held him for a moment, before Sokka spoke up again with a shaky voice._
> 
> _“I’m...sorry, Zuko. I’ll never forget you.”_
> 
> _Zuko couldn't speak. He didn't know what to say._
> 
> _“Here, I,” Sokka started, “I brought you something.”_
> 
> _Sokka reached into his pocket and pulled out a small bracelet. It was navy in color and braided together, with a silver clasp on the end. “Katara taught me how to make it,” he noted. “She said it’s a friendship bracelet. I...made it for you. So you won’t forget me.”_
> 
> _He offered it to Zuko, who took it and examined it carefully in his hands. “Thanks.”_
> 
> _He didn't look at Sokka when he said it, but he could tell Sokka was smiling. Zuko wiped the tears from his face and stood up quickly, trying to push down his feelings. “You said you don’t have long, right? Wanna play prison break?”_
> 
> _Sokka smiled. “Sure.”_

That afternoon was the last time he saw Sokka. All he could remember was the feeling of Sokka’s arm around him, the warm sun at dusk shining down on them both, and Sokka’s laughter as he pretended to break Zuko out of prison and save the day. And on Monday when Zuko returned to school, Sokka was gone.

It's been a long time since he’s really thought about it...so much has happened since then. His mother's passing, and then everything that happened with his father, not to mention moving and trying to settle in here. His mind drifts back again to their hideout and one particular day when Sokka rigged a zip line for them to play on, only to fall flat on his ass and break the line on the first go. Zuko chuckles to himself at the memory, and then a voice startles him out of his thoughts.

“What is so funny, nephew?”

Iroh stands calmly in the doorway, holding a tray with a tea kettle and two cast iron mugs. He enters the room and sets the tray down on Zuko’s desk.

“Nothing,” Zuko responds. 

Iroh doesn’t press it any further. “Well then, tell me about your first day instead,” he prompts.

Zuko sits up on the bed and sighs. “Why don’t you ask Azula how her day went.”

Iroh chuckles as he pours the tea. “You and I both know that conversation would not be very fruitful.” 

“Mm,” Zuko says in understanding, picking up a mug of tea. “It was fine. Good, actually.”

Even this declaration feels too vulnerable for Zuko, but it was something he’d been working on. Iroh was one of the very few, if not the only one, he felt most comfortable sharing any of his feelings with. Iroh was practically his father figure, and had done more to take care of him in the last 5 minutes than their biological father had done their entire lives. But even still, Zuko doesn't share _everything_.

Iroh looks up at him with a smile. “Good you say? Well I am happy to hear that, nephew. I hope you are able to make some good friends here. This is our home now, so it’s best we try to settle in and find some good people to trust, yes?”

“Sure,” Zuko says, avoiding the topic further to take a long sip of tea.

Next to him on his bed, his phone buzzes. Zuko smiles when he sees the text. 

“Who could be making you smile so, nephew?” Iroh asks curiously.

Zuko quickly types a reply and tosses his phone back on the bed. “Just...someone from school.”

“Ah,” Iroh sighs happily. “I am glad to see you have already made some friends.”

“Whatever,” Zuko mumbles. He takes another sip of tea to try to hide his smile when his phone buzzes again.

* * *

_[Earlier that day]_

Sokka gets in the car, where Katara is waiting for him. 

“Weird day, huh?” he says, fumbling with his keys before turning over the ignition. The car revs to life and Katara smirks. 

“A-huh, really weird…did Zuko Sozin just give you his _number?_ ”

Sokka puts the car in drive and tries to brush it off as he drives out of the school parking lot. “Maybe, so what if he did? He’s new here, maybe he just wanted to have someone to talk to, you know? New school, new people-”

“You’re not new to him,” she remarks. And if she sees the blush rising on his ears, she doesn’t mention it. 

“Just shut up,” Sokka says as he hands her the aux cord, “and put on some music please.”

Katara takes it from him with a look of curiosity. “Since when do you let me pick the music in your car? Man, Zuko’s got you all riled up.”

“He does not have me RILED UP!” Sokka shouts. 

Katara laughs and plugs her phone. “You know we only live like 5 minutes away...we don’t even need music. We could walk to school and save gas but you just want to look cool driving as a senior.”

“Yes, that’s the point, Katara,” he says in all seriousness, “Plus I get to sleep in longer when we drive, so that’s a bonus. Now please put on some music so I don’t have to listen to you talk anymore.” 

“Okay nerd,” she jokes, and presses play. 

* * *

After dinner, Sokka paces back and forth in his room, trying to decide what he should say to Zuko. He starts a text multiple times but all of them just sound so _stupid_.

> _Hey cool guy!_
> 
> _Wassup!!_
> 
> _Yo! It’s ya boi Sokka!_

Good lord. What the fuck was wrong with him? _Alright, Sokka, get your shit together._

He takes a deep breath and types a quick message before he can second guess himself.

**hey it’s sokka** [8:04 p.m.]

Only a few moments pass before his phone buzzes back. 

> [8:05 p.m.] zuko sozin: **hey man. hows it going**

Sokka smiles and types a quick reply. 

**Pretty good. u?** [8:06 p.m.]

A few more minutes pass before he texts back, and Sokka starts to get nervous.

_God what if he doesn’t even want to talk to me? I’m an idiot-_

_Buzz_.

> [8:30 p.m.] zuko sozin: **sorry about that my uncle was bothering me**

**I think i remember him...does he still like tea?** [8:31 p.m.]

> [8:32 p.m.] zuko sozin: **uhhh yeah lol. he owns a tea shop here now**

**oh sick. Maybe i can see it sometime** [8:33 p.m.]

**I mean, if that’s cool with you** [8:33 p.m.]

**feel free to tell me to shut up at any time lol** [8:33 p.m.]

“Ughhhh,” Sokka groans out loud and smacks himself in the head. “What the fuck are you talking about Piandao!?”

Just then, Katara walks by his bedroom door. “Excuse me?”

“Not you, Katara. Go away.”

Katara smiles as her eyes drift down to his phone. “Whatever. Tell _Zuko_ I said hi.”

“BYE, Katara.”

His phone buzzes again.

> [8:40 p.m.] zuko sozin: **lol yeah that’d be cool**
> 
> [8:40 p.m.] zuko sozin: **I work there after school if you guys want to stop by some time**

**Rad** [8:41 p.m.]

RAD?! What year is this, fucking 1980? _Quick Sokka, say something else before he thinks you’re insane._

**what’s it called?** [8:42 p.m.]

> [8:45 p.m.] zuko sozin: **the jasmine dragon. on main street**

**cool. we will definitely check it out** [8:46 p.m.]

> [8:47 p.m.] zuko sozin: **sounds like a plan**

**See you tomorrow?** [8:48 p.m.]

> [8:50 p.m.] zuko sozin: **for sure**

**:)** [8:51 p.m.]

Zuko doesn’t respond anymore after that, but it’s okay. Sokka feels like a weight’s been lifted off of his chest. Now that their first text conversation was over with, it would be easier from now on. At least, he hopes there will be more to come.

* * *

The Jasmine Dragon is quaint and welcoming. Plants, ornate hanging lanterns, and traditional artwork grace the walls. There are a few tables in the main room, separated from the kitchen by a large curtain. The curtain parts and an older man walks out, smiling at Sokka and Katara.

“Hello there! Please, have a seat and someone will be out to serve you shortly!”

“Actually, uh,” Sokka says awkwardly, “we just came by to say hi to Zuko.”

“Ah, I see,” he says, “I am Iroh Sozin, his uncle. And you are?”

“Sokka...Piandao. And this is my sister Katara. You might remember us from back in Omashu?”

He looks them over for a moment and then realization dawns on him. “Piandao....Yes of course! I worked with your father many moons ago. Such a shame what happened to your mother. She was a lovely woman…”

Sokka and Katara exchange a look and the awkward silence breaks when Katara speaks up. “Is Zuko...here? He said he works here after school.” 

“Hah!” Iroh laughs. “Yes he is here every day. His shift starts in a few minutes but if you want to say hi, you can find him upstairs. Just through there,” he says, pointing towards the back of the kitchen.

“Thanks.” Sokka says, nodding and walking away with Katara. In the back of the kitchen was another curtain hiding a staircase leading upstairs. Sokka looks at Katara expectedly but she just shrugs. “After you.”

Sokka knocks lightly on the upstairs door. He thinks he can hear faint notes being played on a piano, or keyboard maybe? It’s hard to tell but the sound is muffled. A few moments later they hear some footsteps approaching. To their surprise, Azula is the one who opens the door. 

“Can I help you?” she asks, signature snark immediately on display. 

“Uh, hey Azula?” Sokka says. “Remember us?” He points between himself and Katara. “Sokka….Katara…..we used to be friends a long time ago?”

Azula squints and eyes them over for a moment but doesn’t reply. Whatever music Sokka was hearing before stops abruptly. He gets even more uncomfortable the longer Azula stares them down, and he’s about to turn around and walk away when Zuko finally walks up behind her. 

“Azula, don’t be an asshole. Let them in.”

“Fine,” she says, “But don’t be late for your shift. I won’t cover for you.”

“I know,” Zuko says, looking impatient with her. “You can leave now.”

Azula gives him a look, they aren’t exactly sure of what, but she doesn’t say anything further and pushes past them to go down into the tea room. 

Sokka meets Zuko’s eyes then and suddenly he forgot why they were there in the first place. 

“Well?” Zuko says. “Do you guys wanna come in or just stand there?”

Katara elbows Sokka in the side and he snaps out of it. “Oh yeah, sorry.”

Zuko leads them inside and to their surprise, they’ve walked into what looks like an apartment. They have a couch and television stand, a couple bookshelves, and a small table next to a kitchenette. 

“Do you guys live here?” Katara asks, genuinely curious. 

Zuko smirks. “Yeah. It’s not much but it was the only way Iroh could afford his tea house. Saves money on rent when it’s all in one place.”

“It’s cool,” Sokka remarks. 

Zuko laughs. “Thanks, I guess.” Then he pulls out his phone and sighs. “Sorry guys, I have to head downstairs to start my shift. You can stay, if you want. I’m sure my uncle would love to bother you more.”

Sokka smiles. “He’s not so bad.”

“Hmm,” Zuko starts. “You don’t have to live with him.”

“Good point.”

They head back downstairs and sure enough, Iroh has already made and set a table for tea. They sit and enjoy it, sipping slowly as Iroh instructs. Katara pulls out some homework to finish, and Iroh challenges Sokka to a round of pai sho. 

“You don’t have to,” Zuko says from across the room. 

“No, I want to,” Sokka says. “It sounds fun.”

“Fun?” Zuko questions. “You can’t be serious.”

“Hey, I’m all about strategy. Let’s do this.”

Iroh claps his hands together and leads Sokka over to the pai sho table to explain the rules.

They play a couple rounds that Sokka loses pretty handily, but the next 2 rounds become much closer as he gets the hang of it, even to the point where Iroh thinks he might win.

“Nephew, I think I have finally found a worthy adversary. Your participation may no longer be needed.”

“Thank god,” Zuko mumbles as he finishes sweeping the other side of the room. 

* * *

Later, when the shop is closed for the day, Iroh sits with Zuko at their kitchen table upstairs for dinner. 

“Zuko,” he starts, “why didn’t you tell me the Piandaos lived here? This is wonderful news that you have found your old friend again.”

Zuko doesn’t make eye contact, but shrugs. “Don’t know. It’s not that big of a deal.”

Iroh chuckles to himself. “You and I both know that is not the case, Nephew.”

Zuko sighs and gets up from the table to leave. “I’m finishing dinner in my room.” 

Iroh doesn’t protest, but smiles as he turns back to his food.

Back in his room, Zuko sets his plate down on his desk and sits to finish eating, but after a couple of bites, pushes the plate away and sighs. He looks over to the top drawer of his desk and opens it, pulling out a small wooden box. He opens it gently, and smiles as he examines the small braided bracelet inside. 

* * *

The days stretch on for the next few weeks in the same way. Sokka and Zuko sit with each other in all their shared classes, at lunch, and most days after school down at the Jasmine Dragon. It’s....easy, like they had fallen back into an old rhythm, a song they’d never truly forgotten. Sometimes it feels as though there hasn’t been an eight year gap there at all. Zuko figures Sokka is probably curious about the scar, among other things. And he's curious about some things too, but Sokka doesn’t prod him with questions about the past, which he is honestly grateful for.

Zuko used to hate working in the afternoons but now, it isn’t so bad. Sokka and Katara come so frequently that they have a designated spot in one corner of the tea room, where they study or do homework, or Sokka tries to beat Iroh at pai sho. It’s...nice. And Zuko isn’t really used to that. He has some friends back in Omashu, but none like this, where he was comfortable with them just hanging around all the time. It’s strange to be able to see Sokka so often, after going so long without seeing each other. But Zuko isn’t complaining. 

One afternoon, when business is slow, Zuko slumps down at the table next to Sokka, who’s got a marker dangling out of his mouth as he stares pensively down at a piece of paper. Zuko looks around the table and sees sheet after sheet of designs.

“Did you make these?” he asks, picking one up to examine it. It’s a picture of a Ferris wheel, a swirling effect of light and color all across the page. In big scrawling letters it reads _Come on down! Fun for the whole family! Help East Ember High meet their fundraising goal!_

“Oh, uh,” Sokka starts, pulled out of his concentration by Zuko’s close proximity. “Yeah, I did.”

“They’re really good.”

Sokka smiles to himself. “Thanks.”

“What are all these for?” 

Sokka sighs. “I have to turn some designs in for art class tomorrow.” 

“Sure, but what is it?” 

“You know,” Katara says, “the big carnival….fundraiser...for the school? They’ve been talking about it all week on the announcements.”

Zuko stares at her for a moment but shrugs. He meets Sokka’s eyes then and they both smirk, because they both know damn well that they never listen to the morning announcements. They were too busy talking at their lockers with Suki as they avoided going into class for as long as they could.

“Actually,” Katara continues, “it’s next weekend. We’re all planning to go, like as a group. Me, Sokka, Aang, Toph. I think Suki will be there too. You should come.”

“Carnivals aren’t really my thing,” Zuko says, sitting back and crossing his arms. 

From the other side of the room, Iroh speaks up. “Don’t listen to my nephew, Ms. Piandao. He would love to go.”

Zuko shoots him a look of annoyance but doesn’t argue. Then he looks at Sokka, who’s gone back to working on his flyer. He’s got a look of concentration on his face as he works, and Zuko softens a bit at the sight. 

“Fine. I’ll go.”

* * *

“Guyssss come on. It’ll be fun!” 

They’ve been at the carnival for a few minutes now, and Aang is trying to convince them to spend money on a psychic reading, with no luck.

“All that stuff is bullshit, Aang,” Sokka says. “I’m not wasting my money on it.”

Katara tries to stick up for Aang, who looks dejected. “Aw, come on Sokka. Maybe Aang’s right. It’s all for a good cause, anyway.”

“I’m with Sokka,” Toph says. “Plus you know how good I am at telling when people are lying. Actually...you know what. On second thought this might be fun. I’m doing it.”

Sokka checks his phone. No text from Zuko yet to say that he’d arrived. “Alright, fine. I guess we can do something instead of just standing around.”

Aang smiles wide and Sokka rolls his eyes as they walk towards the tent.

Sokka goes last, and enters the tent alone. The sounds of the carnival outside fade away, and he finds a woman sitting behind a small circular table, with a set of tarot cards and a crystal ball in front of her. Sokka sits down and crosses his arms. “Okay lady, let’s get this over with.” 

The woman smiles at Sokka and nods, before shuffling the cards in front of her. She lays a few on the table between them, making various remarks as she goes.

_“Hm.”_

_“Ohhh.”_ _  
_

_“Tsk.”_

Sokka furls his eyebrows at her. “Are you actually gonna tell me anything or just sit there and make noises to make me nervous?”

The woman smiles at him again. “I apologize. There is just a lot here to read, that’s all.”

“Hm.” Sokka eyes her suspiciously.

The woman speaks again. “You’ve been through some hardships.” 

“Uhh, yeah. Hasn’t everybody?”

“Mm.” She nods. “Not every hardship is the same. You have a great loss in your past. More than one, I see.”

“...Okay?” Sokka says. He’s confused how this has anything to do with his future, but these generic statements aren’t doing it for him right now. He already knew this about himself....yes obviously he’s faced loss. First his mother, then of course Yue...

The woman continues. “You must reconcile with your past in order to move forward.”

Sokka has crossed his arms now and raised an eyebrow. “Alright, uh. Thanks I guess? Is that all?”

“One of these losses...a person from your past...your paths were closely linked together in love. But there is a chance for these paths to merge again.” 

Sokka was really starting to feel confused now. Either this lady was crazy or he was missing something. His mother was gone, and so was Yue. There was no getting them back.

“That is all I have for you,” the woman says. “I wish you the best.”

Sokka stands and exits the tent. The group turns to face him, and he can see now that Zuko has joined them. His stomach flips at the sight of him. 

“Well guys, that was a total waste of time.” 

* * *

The group walks down the main strip, taking in the sights all around them. The sun is beginning to set and the air is cool as autumn officially settles in. They walk past booth after booth of carnival games, fried foods, and rides. The sounds of music, laughter, and people shouting fill the air. They even stop at the petting zoo for a few minutes to feed the animals (Toph cries laughing when Aang gets kicked by a goat for getting too close). 

Sokka practically begs the group to ride the Ferris wheel, calling it an "engineering marvel," which Toph promptly refuses. “No way. I don’t do heights.”

Aang and Katara agree to ride too, but at the last second they jump into their own seat and shut the door, leaving Zuko and Sokka to ride together. Alone...together. 

Sokka tries not to make it awkward, really he does, but when has that ever worked for him?

The seat is big enough for them to sit across from each other and not side by side, thank Agni. The ride creaks and groans as it starts to move, sending them higher into the sky. Every once in a while Sokka looks over at Zuko and awkwardly smiles, unsure of what to say. After way too many moments like that, he reaches the point where he can’t bear the silence anymore and speaks up.

“Pretty lights.”

“Yeah,” Zuko says. “Bright.”

Well. _Good one Sokka._ He looks out over the side and starts to whistle just to fill the silence.

“What?” Zuko asks.

“What? Oh, I didn’t say anything.”

_Just shut up, Sokka. Seriously. How much longer is this ride anyway?!_

After an excruciating minute, Zuko breaks the silence.

“I like this song.”

Sokka hadn’t really been paying attention because he was too focused on not looking like an absolute idiot, so he takes a moment to listen.

“ _You_ like Lady Gaga?” he asks, a disbelieving look on his face.

“What,” Zuko says, smiling now. “Does that surprise you?”

Sokka shakes his head and smiles. “Yeah, I mean I kind of pegged you for more of a broody, _I only listen to REAL music like the Cure, man”_ kinda guy.”

Zuko laughs. “I like The Cure, too.”

Sokka smiles and turns away from him to look down, already feeling lighter. 

* * *

When they (finally) reach the end of their Ferris wheel ride, they realize that Aang and Katara split off from the group, leaving the two of them and Toph to wander around the carnival. Sokka momentarily thinks about going to look for them, but he also trusts Aang despite how goofy the kid can be. He also knows that Katara is perfectly capable of taking care of herself, but sometimes he can’t help it when the protective older brother instinct kicks in.

They look around for some games to play. Zuko wins a game of ring toss, and promptly finds a little kid to give the stuffed animal prize to. (Sokka’s heart warms when he sees it). Toph is determined to beat the record on the mechanical bull game, and unsurprisingly, she does it first try. She wins a giant teddy bear that’s almost as big as she is, but she lugs it around proudly. Sokka can’t even manage to stay on the bull for more than a few seconds before falling flat on his ass (Some things never change). Zuko can’t help but laugh, but he extends a hand to Sokka to help him get up from the mat. He tries to ignore the way it felt to hold his hand, even for a moment. 

As they walk towards another game to play, someone shouts behind them.

“Sokka!”

Sokka turns and smiles widely. “Suki!!!”

The two run towards each other and hug. Zuko knows they’re close because they talk every day, and have for a long time. He suddenly feels very unsure of himself...Had he missed something? He’d only been back in Sokka’s life for a few weeks now. He clearly had other friends that were important to him... But maybe him and Suki were more than just friends.

Suki waves. “Hey Zuko, hey Toph!”

The two of them sheepishly raise hands to wave back “Hey.”

Suki invites them to go ride the tilt-a-whirl, but Toph is the only one who accepts. 

“Sooks, you know I get sick on that thing every single time,” Sokka says.

Suki laughs. “I know, that’s why it’s fun. Hilarious, actually-”

“Alright, alright,” Sokka says. “You guys have fun. I’m starving. What do you say, Zuko? Wanna go gorge ourselves on fried foods that we’ll probably regret tomorrow?”

Zuko smiles and nods, and the two of them walk away together. 

Sokka orders a funnel cake, fried oreos, and a footlong corn dog (and he is ELATED to finally be eating all this greasy fried food). Zuko gets a soda, some loaded fries, and a slice of pizza bigger than his face. They wander around for a minute before finding an empty picnic table under the pavilion to sit at.

Sokka takes a big bite of food and sighs happily. “R’you having fun?”

Zuko looks at him. “Yeah. Why wouldn't I be?”

"You said carnivals we're really your thing, so I just wanted to be sure." 

Zuko is a bit taken aback by this, because that was really just an off-hand comment and he didn't expect Sokka to take that to heart. He tries to backtrack.

"I guess I just never really had a group of people to go with before to make things like this fun," says Zuko. "So...thanks for inviting me."

Sokka smiles but he's got a cheek full of food. "U'r welcome."

“So,” Zuko says, trying to act casual, grabbing a piece of Sokka’s funnel cake, “how long have you and Suki been together?” 

Sokka almost chokes on his food but contains himself. “We’re not together. Just been friends for a long time. Well, we did technically date for a little bit but decided we were better as friends.”

Zuko tries to hide his sigh of relief, unsure if it’s convincing. “Oh. Good.”

Sokka looks up and meets Zuko’s eyes with a sly smile on his face. “Good?”

Zuko trips over his words. “Oh, I mean, yeah. You know, that’s good. That you guys can be mature about it.”

“What, you don’t think I can be mature?” Sokka teases.

Zuko is suddenly glad he decided to wear his hair down tonight because he KNOWS his ears are turning blood red right now. “No, I didn’t mean that, I just-”

Sokka laughs. “Zuko, chill. I’m just messing with you.”

At the sound of Sokka’s laugh, Zuko does relax a little. He looks up and there’s a sparkle in Sokka’s eyes. He can’t help but smile back.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I had to incorporate their awkward war balloon conversation somehow, right? :)
> 
> 2) since this is a modern au, I tried to give them last names. Hope this doesn't throw anyone off too much! 
> 
> 3) more childhood flashbacks to come, along with the boys sharing more of their lost years with each other
> 
> 4) I love the idea of Azula pretending that she doesn't remember them...we may see more of Azula later on though
> 
> 5) We probably won't see anything else about the psychic reading but I just thought it would be funny to have skeptical Sokka literally get a love reading about Zuko and not connect the dots at all. It's not that he doesn't consider losing Zuko to be a great loss because he definitely does, but his impression was that the psychic was talking about people who had passed away. (More info on those backstories coming later!)
> 
> 6) Sokka appreciates that Zuko likes Gaga because he absolutely loves pop music that he can dance to, don't even TRIP
> 
> 6) If you've never read one of my fics before just know that dialogue is my favorite thing to write, so. be prepared for more that
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	3. Three

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka's struggling with a class, and Zuko offers to help.

> _Nine Years Ago_
> 
>   
>  _Zuko had invited him to come over and play for once, because his father was going out of town and wouldn’t be home. Sokka didn’t know why Zuko didn’t want him to see the man but he trusted Zuko, so he didn’t question it. Zuko didn’t talk about his father very much, but when he did, it was clearly a topic that bothered him. So for his sake, Sokka didn’t mention it._
> 
> _The Sozin household was larger than his own, but despite it’s spacious stone and marble interior, it was surprisingly warm. Zuko’s mother Ursa had a lot to do with that, because she was about as kind and welcoming as they came. She was beautiful, with long black hair, and a sweet smile that made Sokka feel safe. She also had a talent for music, and was a gifted pianist. On the very few occasions throughout their friendship that Sokka was allowed to go to Zuko’s house, he almost always found her sitting at her upright piano, playing softly._
> 
> _He watched as Zuko made Ursa a cup of tea and took it to her, setting it gently on top of the piano for her to take when she was finished playing. She looked down at him and smiled, reaching a hand over to ruffle the hair on top of his head as the other continued to play, making Zuko giggle. (“Mooom, stop!”) Sokka felt happy watching them together, because she made Zuko happy. And anything that made Zuko happy was alright with him. Zuko had told him some things about his mother, like how she didn’t leave the house too much because she got tired a lot, and some days she would spend hours in bed and not be able to move. But on the days she could, she always played music for him._

  
_Present Day_

Sokka has always loved music. For as long as he can remember, he’s had issues with focus, and music seems to be one of the only things that helps, and it calms him down if needs it. Now as a 17 year old with a smartphone, he has a world of music at his fingertips at any given moment, and he uses it as frequently as possible. He's always working on new playlists that he can share with his friends and has one for just about every mood or situation one can think of. Things like, _driving in the afternoon, driving at night, driving at night (when it’s raining), going to the beach and feeling sad, workout, songs to annoy Katara,_ and _80's bops that are underrated_ , among many others. He doesn’t have a playlist for _failing English lit class_ (yet) but his _emo ballads_ playlist does the trick for now. 

This is how Zuko finds him: in his car with the driver’s seat laid down, the windows up, and music blasting, eyes closed. He knocks on the window once, then harder when Sokka doesn’t hear him. 

Sokka sits up with a start and acknowledges him. Zuko walks around and sits in the passenger seat, but doesn’t say anything at first, just watching Sokka expectedly.

Sokka sighs and turns the music down. “I failed my English test.” 

“Oh."

“...And the one before that.”

“That’s rough, buddy.”

“I know, I know, okay! It’s not good. I don’t know what’s going on but I’m just having a hard time in that one. That teacher is so fucking boring, dude. I basically fall asleep in that class every day.”

“Well, what are you gonna do about it?” Zuko asks.

“I don’t know. If my dads find out, they’re gonna kill me so I gotta figure something out. I think I need to find a tutor but I really don't want to.”

Zuko thinks about it for a moment. “I could...help you. If you wanted.”

Sokka gives him a curious look. “Seriously?”

Zuko fidgets with the strap on his backpack, suddenly nervous for some reason. He was just offering to do something to help Sokka out, why did he feel so weird about it? 

“Yeah, I mean. I’m good at writing and I like all that stuff. I could help you and then you won’t have to worry about finding a tutor or anything.”

“That would be amazing,” Sokka says. “Thanks Zuko. I owe you one.”

“No problem. Wait, did you say...your dad(s)?”

Sokka smiles. “Yeah, uh, our dad got remarried when we were in middle school. His husband’s name is Bato.”

“Huh. That’s great. I mean for your dad, that’s great.”

“Guess so. He’s definitely happier than when you saw him last, which was after our mom died.”

“Right,” Zuko says. “I remember.”

* * *

  
“Can I get you anything, Sokka? Maybe a nice jasmine?”

“Uh, sure Iroh. That’d be great, thanks.”

Iroh walks back to the kitchen of the Jasmine Dragon and starts heating water for tea. Zuko has been drilling Sokka on menial shit like the birth years of famous poets and syllable patterns for almost half an hour now and honestly Sokka’s already over it. No wonder he’s failing English class. He starts to worry about his grades again, because if Zuko can’t even keep him interested in this stuff for very long either, then he was in deep shit. He absentmindedly starts doodling on his paper as Zuko is trying to explain the difference between pentameters and tetrameters, and is only pulled out of it when Zuko waves in his face.

“Sokka? Hello? Earth to Sokka?”

Sokka sighs when he realizes what he’s done. “Sorry, Zuko. I just got distracted.”

“It’s okay,” he says. “I know this stuff can get boring. Why don’t we try something else then...do you have any playlists that are good for studying?”

“Do you know who you’re talking to?” Sokka asks smugly.

Zuko laughs. “Yes dumbass, that’s why I asked.”

Sokka sticks his tongue out at him and then pulls out his phone, scrolling until he’s found one of his (many) study playlists. He presses shuffle and some light piano music begins to play. He’s already feeling more at ease. He considers for a moment how kind it was for Zuko to notice that he was distracted, and that he remembered that music helps. In fact it was kind of him to be doing this at all by tutoring Sokka to help him with his grades. He didn't have to agree to it, but he did. Because that's just how Zuko was. He's _kind_. And thoughtful. And Sokka is really grateful to have him back in his life. 

“Better?” Zuko asks, a small expectant smile on his face.

Sokka nods. 

“Okay. Maybe we should try to relate the poetry concepts to something you’re already familiar with. Like art or something.”

“Okay,” Sokka says. “How?”

“Well, poetry is kind of an art form in and of itself, but instead of using pencils or paint, you’re just using words.”

Sokka is listening more intently now, so Zuko just rolls with it. “A lot of poetry uses imagery to put a picture in your mind of what’s happening, just like any other kind of story or writing. They just do it in a certain format. So...why don’t we just look at one of the poems you’re supposed to write about and see what we can come up with?”

Sokka opens up his folder and pulls out the first paper, handing it to Zuko. 

“Okay,” Zuko says, “I’m gonna read it out loud, and you either write down or draw what images come to mind, and then we'll go from there, okay?”

“Easy enough,” Sokka replies, getting his pencil ready. 

And with that, Zuko begins to read. 

> _“A Valediction: Forbidding Mourning by John Donne_
> 
> _As virtuous men pass mildly away,_  
>  _And whisper to their souls to go,_  
>  _Whilst some of their sad friends do say_  
>  _The breath goes now, and some say, No:_
> 
> _So let us melt, and make no noise,_  
>  _No tear-floods, nor sigh-tempests move;_  
>  _'Twere profanation of our joys_  
>  _To tell the laity our love._
> 
> _Moving of th' earth brings harms and fears,_  
>  _Men reckon what it did, and meant;_  
>  _But trepidation of the spheres,_  
>  _Though greater far, is innocent._
> 
> _Dull sublunary lovers' love_  
>  _(Whose soul is sense) cannot admit_  
>  _Absence, because it doth remove_  
>  _Those things which elemented it._
> 
> _But we by a love so much refined,_  
>  _That our selves know not what it is,_  
>  _Inter-assured of the mind,_  
>  _Care less, eyes, lips, and hands to miss._
> 
> _Our two souls therefore, which are one,_  
>  _Though I must go, endure not yet_  
>  _A breach, but an expansion,_  
>  _Like gold to airy thinness beat._
> 
> _If they be two, they are two so_  
>  _As stiff twin compasses are two;_  
>  _Thy soul, the fixed foot, makes no show_  
>  _To move, but doth, if the other do._
> 
> _And though it in the center sit,_  
>  _Yet when the other far doth roam,_  
>  _It leans and hearkens after it,_  
>  _And grows erect, as that comes home._
> 
> _Such wilt thou be to me, who must,_  
>  _Like th' other foot, obliquely run;_  
>  _Thy firmness makes my circle just,_  
>  _And makes me end where I begun.”_

  
Zuko finished the last line and then his golden eyes looked up at Sokka, waiting for a response. But Sokka had nothing. He became so enraptured with the poem and _Zuko_ reading it to him that he completely forgot to do his part. He was watching his friend, his best friend, read a _love_ poem with reverence and expression, and he just got completely lost in it. He was supposed to be drawing images that came to mind, but all he could see was Zuko. 

* * *

Iroh returns a few minutes later with a pot of tea for them, and turns to Sokka. 

“Mr. Piandao, I wonder if I could ask you a favor?”

“Sure, shoot.”

“Well, you two clearly work well together, and my nephew here has not been doing so hot with his algebra class. He won’t let me help him, but maybe you could.”

Sokka smacks Zuko on the arm playfully. “Why didn’t you say anything?” 

Zuko rolls his eyes. “Uncle, I don’t need help.”

Iroh laughs. “Your last test grade tells me otherwise, nephew. What do you say, Mr. Piandao?” 

Sokka smiles. “Why not. You’re already helping me. We can help each other. You know, quid pro quo and all that.” 

Zuko narrows his eyes at him for a moment and then sighs in defeat. “Fine.”   
  


* * *

The Piandao’s house is lovely, and Zuko is greeted almost instantly by a beaming Hakoda.

“Zuko!” he exclaims, pulling the boy into a hug. If he even notices Zuko’s scar, he doesn’t bring attention to it. Which is fine, because that’s a story that Zuko really doesn’t want to get into right now.

“It’s so good to see you again. Sokka’s told us you recently moved here?”

“Yes, sir - with Iroh and Azula.”

“Ah, Iroh,” he says in a fond tone, “Good man. I’m happy to see you’re doing well, Zuko. Make yourself at home.”

“Uh, thank you.” 

Sokka rests a hand on his dad’s arm. “Alright dad, we have some studying to do, so, do you mind?”

Hakoda simply smiles and nods, moving out of the way so the boys can head upstairs to Sokka’s room. It’s small, but undoubtedly _Sokka's_. Artwork and band posters cover the walls and his desk is a mess of papers, art supplies, and random pieces of laundry. He quickly shoves all of that to the side and makes space for Zuko to sit down, and sits on the side of his bed across from where Zuko sits at the desk.

“Alright,” he starts, “what are you struggling with the most in math? Like where do we need to start?” 

“Uh, at the beginning, probably.” 

Sokka laughs. “What like, 2 + 2? I’d hope you know that part already, Zuko.”

“ _Ha-ha_ , jerk,” he responds. “No, I guess I just have trouble with remembering the formulas? Which is where most of the work comes in. Like if I get a piece of that wrong, the end result is messed up. I get them mixed up a lot, too.”

“Hmm, I see...” Sokka places his chin in his hand and has a pensive look on his face. Zuko has to look away because it’s honestly adorable and he can’t help but smile at it.

“Well,” Sokka continues. “Why don’t we take your own advice and try to find something else you can relate it to - something you understand really well.”

“Okay.”

There’s a long pause before Sokka speaks up again. “Right, so...this would be the part where you tell me something that might work.”

Zuko nods. “Right, yeah. Um...I don’t know. I guess, music?”

“Music? Like how?”

“Like playing music. I can read sheet music.”

“I didn’t know that,” Sokka remarks. 

Zuko raises a hand to stroke the back of his neck in a shy gesture. “Yeah, I uh, play piano. Have for a few years.”

_“Just like your mom.”_

Sokka says it so quietly that Zuko isn’t even sure he heard him correctly, but after a moment he answers. “Yeah, like that.”

_Sokka remembers his mom. Of course he does._

“Okay,” Sokka says. “So let’s think about music then. I guess, every note has its own value, in this case, tone or sound, and individually they may not add up to a whole lot but when you put them together in certain ways, you get a melody.”

“That makes sense,” Zuko says. 

“I think we should test this and see if you can come up with your own formulas. Maybe that will help these concepts sink in a little better. Plus, I love an excuse to listen to music,” he says with a smile. 

Sokka scrolls on his phone for a minute, before choosing one. “This is one of my favorites,” he notes. “It’s simple, but the melody is really nice. I think you’ll like it.”

“Okay. Let’s try it.”

Sokka nods and presses play. He lays back on his bed and crosses his arms behind his head as they begin to listen. And to Zuko’s surprise, he starts singing along. 

> _It's been a long, long time_  
>  _Since I've memorized your face_  
>  _It's been four hours now_  
>  _Since I've wandered through your place_  
>  _And when I sleep on your couch_  
>  _I feel very safe_  
>  _And when you bring the blankets_  
>  _I cover up my face_
> 
> _I do...love you_  
>  _I do...love you_
> 
> _And when you play guitar_  
>  _I listen to the strings buzz_  
>  _The metal vibrates underneath your fingers_  
>  _And when you crochet_  
>  _I feel mesmerized and proud_
> 
> _And I would say I love you_  
>  _But saying it out loud is hard_  
>  _So I won't say it at all_  
>  _And I won't stay very long_
> 
> _But you are the life I needed all along_  
>  _I think of you as my brother_  
>  _Although that sounds dumb_
> 
> _Words are futile devices_

The last note of the song played and Sokka's blue eyes met his own, waiting for a response. But Zuko had nothing. He meant to write something down, but he became so moved by the song and by Sokka’s singing that he completely forgot to do his part. He was watching his friend, his best friend, sing a _love_ song with reverence and expression, and he just got completely lost in it. He was supposed to be writing formulas that came to mind, but all he could hear was Sokka. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) This chapter was supposed to be longer, but I like where it left off. The good news is, more than half of the next chapter is already written, so it should be up in the next few days :) 
> 
> 2) I couldn't resist putting that poem in this fic somehow, it's one of my favorites and I remember studying it in high school. It also just happened to fit perfectly with this story because it's about two lovers who are seperated and find their way back to each other. If you want to read more about the poem you can here: https://www.litcharts.com/poetry/john-donne/a-valediction-forbidding-mourning
> 
> 3) The song that Sokka sings at the end is none other than Futile Devices by Sufjan Stevens. I like to imagine that Sokka has a nice singing voice, too. 
> 
> 4) More interactions with the gaang coming next chapter :)
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	4. Four

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko learns more about Sokka's past.

“I can beat you,” Zuko says, smirking as he crosses his arms. 

“Wanna bet? I’ve been playing this game for _years_ buddy. Hell, I came up with it! If you win, I’ll give up eating meat. And sarcasm.”

Katara laughs. “But Sokka, you’ll _die_.”

“Alright, fine. Let’s just bet 20 bucks then.” He looks to Zuko with a sly smile.

Zuko smiles back. “You’re on.”

During one of their frequent study sessions at the Jasmine Dragon, Sokka notices that Iroh has fallen asleep sitting at the counter, hunched over with his head resting on his arms. Immediately, he makes the group play a round of _staff stacking_ with whatever they can find. He uses the excuse of needing a break from studying, even though they’d only been doing it for like 30 minutes. He just thinks it’ll be really funny.

“First person to beat my record of 30 items wins,” he says, “or whoever has the most by the time he wakes up. Katara, you keep count.” 

For the next few minutes, they take turns carefully placing items on Iroh, trying not to laugh and freaking out if Iroh stirs or makes any indication of waking up. Zuko is close to breaking Sokka’s record, and gives a knowing smile as he slowly places the winning sticky note on Iroh’s head.

“Unbelievable!” Sokka shouts. 

Iroh sits up immediately at the sound. “What in the....Zuko what is the meaning of this?” he says, as napkins, sticky notes, and paper clips fall onto the counter and floor all around them. 

Zuko laughs and extends a hand. “Pay up, Piandao.”

* * *

Katara watches her brother, who’s watching Zuko intently as he carefully places random items on Iroh. They’ve been spending a lot of time together the last couple of months, and Katara would be lying if she said it hadn’t been nice. 

Not only did Sokka have someone else to entertain him now, he was also...happier. Not that he wasn’t happy before, but it was more obvious than usual since Zuko came back into their lives. They had a great group of friends in Aang, Toph, and Suki, but something about this was different, and she wasn’t sure that Sokka realized it. It had gotten to the point where him and Zuko were almost like a packaged deal. She notices little things at first, like when Sokka starts buying an extra iced coffee before school, or when they’re always sitting together at lunch, goofing around and stealing each other’s food when the other isn’t looking. When they aren’t at the Jasmine Dragon, Zuko is often at their house studying or just hanging out. There are so many nights at dinner when their dad asks Sokka what he’s smiling at on his phone, and he says _‘Nothing,’_ but she knows he’s probably texting Zuko. She likes Zuko, so she doesn’t mind it, but she can’t help but notice the way her brother has already become so attached to him again. 

Sokka shouts something then and she’s brought back to the present moment. He’s reaching into his wallet and pulling out a twenty, trying not to smile as he hands it over to Zuko. There’s a sparkle in his eye, and she can swear she sees Zuko blush. 

When they were kids, it was like this too. They were always together when they could help it. Sometimes she hated them for that because they wouldn’t let her play in the tree house, calling it a “boys only” club, but to watch them now...it was almost endearing. Even after all this time, they still chose each other. Which would have been really nice, if it didn’t worry Katara. She hadn’t seen Sokka this happy since….well, since Yue. 

Later when they’re getting in Sokka’s car to leave, Katara turns back around, on the premise that she'd forgotten something inside.

The bell above the door rings and Zuko's surprised to see her walk back through the door. 

“Hey, Zuko, can I talk to you for a minute?”

“Yeah sure. Everything okay?”

Katara looks almost timid, like she’s unsure she wants to have this conversation. But she starts anyway. 

“I just...I just wanted to talk to you about Sokka.”

Zuko stops what he’s doing, suddenly concerned. “Okay...what about?”

“Well,” she starts, “I just noticed that you guys have been getting really close, and don’t get me wrong, I’m really glad you’re in our lives again, and Sokka seems really happy, but that’s also what worries me.”

Zuko gives her a confused look. “You’re worried about him...because he’s happy? How does that make sense?”

Katara sighs. “It’s hard to explain. He just…cares so deeply about people and when they inevitably leave, it hits him harder than most. I just don’t want him to get hurt again, that’s all.”

“Katara, I’m not sure what you think I’m gonna do to him, but I have no intention of hurting Sokka. You should know that by now.”

She nods. “No, I know you’d never do it intentionally. I just...he’s my brother, okay? And please don’t tell him I said any of this...but I have to look out for him. He’s been through a lot.” 

“Right,” Zuko nods in understanding. “Losing your mother.”

Katara smiles at him sadly. “Yeah, that too.”

* * *

The next night, they’re in Sokka’s room studying, and Sokka leaves to go to the bathroom. Zuko takes a moment and looks around. He’s been in here plenty of times now but today he's just feeling curious. He scans the art and posters on the wall, and the stuff strewn about Sokka’s desk. His eyes fall on a sheet of paper sticking out from beneath a book, and he pulls it out. On it is a large drawing, a portrait, of a young woman. She’s beautiful, with long flowing hair falling around her shoulders, and some braids falling around her face. She’s framed within a large full moon and it’s...gorgeous. 

He can’t be sure, but something tells him that this girl isn’t just a figment of Sokka’s imagination. The drawing seems to have been done with such reverence, that it’s likely this is a real person Sokka knows. But he can’t think of anyone at East Ember High that looks like this, at least not in any of the classes they have together, and Sokka has never mentioned her. Not that they really ever talked about previous or potential romantic partners because they were just friends, so it doesn’t matter anyway. Right? 

The door behind Zuko creaks open again, and Sokka strolls in. “So, I was thinking we could go get some food after-” 

He sees the drawing in Zuko’s hands and stops in his tracks. 

“Sorry,” Zuko says quickly, putting it back on the desk. “I didn’t mean to mess with your stuff, I was just looking at some of your drawings...they’re really good, Sokka.” 

Sokka softens and nods. “It’s okay.”

Zuko nods back, bracing himself. He tries to ask the next question in as light of a tone as possible. “Who is she?”

Sokka meets his eyes and there’s an emotion he can’t quite place. Sadness maybe, anger even? It’s only a fleeting second but then it’s gone as Sokka walks over and picks up the drawing to look at it better. 

“Her name is Yue. She was my girlfriend.” 

_Girlfriend_. Zuko feels a knot begin to tighten in his stomach and he’s not sure why.

“Oh,” he replies, looking up at Sokka, whose eyes remain on the picture. 

“What, uh, happened? If you don’t mind me asking. But you don’t have to share if you don’t want to.”

Sokka looks up at him then and nods in understanding. “No, it’s okay. Katara tells me all the time that it’s good to talk about it. About her.”

“You can tell me anything, Sokka. That hasn't changed.” Zuko says, as sincerely as possible.

Sokka smiles softly. He takes a deep breath and sets the drawing back down on the desk before walking over to his bed and sitting on the edge. He looks down at his hands and starts fidgeting with them. Cautiously, Zuko sits next to him.

“She died, about two years ago.”

Zuko doesn’t know what to say, but without thinking his hand has rested itself on Sokka’s shoulder in a gesture of comfort.

“I’m so sorry, Sokka. That must have been really difficult.”

Sokka simply nods. Zuko suddenly becomes hyper aware that he is touching Sokka’s arm and pulls his hand back quickly, unsure if he was doing this whole _comforting someone_ thing right.

“It was. Still is, sometimes. It was a car accident.”

Zuko is reminded of Katara’s warning to him last night. _I just don’t want him to get hurt again. He’s been through a lot.”_

He really doesn’t know what to say other than, “I’m sorry.” Sokka becomes quiet, and Zuko sees tears beginning to glisten at the corner of his eye. 

“We don’t have to talk about it anymore right now Sokka, it’s okay.” 

Sokka nods gratefully and uses the palm of his hand to wipe the tear that escapes. “Okay, thanks Zuko.”

“But if you ever do want to talk about her, it’s okay with me. She was clearly important to you.”

Sokka nods and gives him a soft smile, moving to change the subject. “Are you hungry? We’ve been studying for forever.”

“I’ve been here for like an hour, Sokka. And we only actually studied for like 15 minutes of that.”

“Exactly! That’s more than enough studying for one day, I think. What do you say? Wanna get out of here?” 

Zuko chuckles to himself. It’s hard to say no to Sokka when he’s sitting this close and smiling at him and his eyes are _that_ blue. “Does it really matter what I say?”

“Not when I’ve got tacos on the brain, buddy.”

It’s been a long time, but one thing that has not changed about Sokka is his passion for food. Once he starts thinking about it, any other venture is a lost cause. 

“Alright,” Zuko says, smiling. “Let’s go.” 

* * *

Late Autumn at a public high school means one thing - football games. As much as Zuko doesn’t like crowds, he finds that these are actually fun. For one, he likes that he’s basically been accepted into an already established friend group without pause - and that’s thanks to Sokka. He probably wouldn’t have figured out how to do that without him. 

Out of everyone in the group, he’s probably bonded with Toph the most over the last few months. He can tell why Sokka likes her so much - she loves pranks and she can be goofy but she’s also honest and generous and loyal. And to Zuko’s surprise, she also plays in the marching band at school in the drum line. He’s not exactly sure how she pulls it off being blind, but at the same time, if there’s anyone in the world that can do it, it’s Toph. 

They go to the games to see Toph play, and to also watch Suki, who’s one of the cheerleading captains. The first time he goes with them, Zuko is also surprised to see Aang on the cheerleading team - but it makes sense when he sees the way Aang can flip and fly across the blacktop as if he was weightless. 

It’s cold out, and Zuko isn’t sure how the cheerleaders stand it but he figures it’s because they move around so much. Zuko prefers warmer weather, and gets cold really easily, so he’s got a sweatshirt under his jacket, a beanie, and gloves on. Sokka, on the other hand, has only his blue sweatshirt on, and is wearing his hair down for once, as if the cold doesn't really bother him at all. Zuko tries to ignore how cute he looks with his hair like that - but Sokka makes it extremely difficult when he runs a hand through his hair as they talk. 

They’re standing by the chain link fence to the football field with Katara, watching the cheerleaders, when Aang runs over. They all talk for a minute, before Suki’s shouting at Aang to come back. Smiling, he gives Katara a quick kiss, and runs off, doing a cartwheel on the way. 

Katara blushes and looks at Sokka, who’s staring at her. “What?” she asks. 

“When did that happen?!” Sokka asks, incredulous.

Zuko laughs. “Man, you really don’t pay attention do you? Even I noticed it weeks ago.”

Sokka looks between them, shocked, and Katara simply shrugs, turning back to watch Aang with a smile on her face.

* * *

They sit up in the bleachers for a while, eating hot dogs and talking as they watch Suki and Aang. Eventually, halftime rolls around and the announcer says the marching band will be playing soon, giving the cheerleaders a break. Aang and Suki make their way up to the bleachers and sit with the group, while Sokka runs to get more food.

Zuko turns to Suki. “Hey can I ask you something?”

“Yeah sure, go for it,” she says. 

“I wanted to ask you about Yue.”

This seems to surprise Suki, who glances over at Katara and Aang to make sure they aren’t listening. “Oh, uh...what about her?” 

“I don’t know, I just wanted to know more about her, I guess. I just want to understand. He’s tried to tell me about it before but I can tell it’s still hard for him to talk about, and I just want to be there for him however I can.” 

“Okay. Look I’m only going to tell you this because I can tell you really care about Sokka, and that’s always going to be my number one priority here, so. Just don’t tell him that I told you any of this stuff,” she says. 

“I won’t,” he replies. “I promise.” 

Suki sighs. “It happened before we dated. And we didn’t even date that long because in the end he was still grieving Yue and just wasn’t ready. We were really better off as friends anyway. But Yue...I knew her too. She used to go to our school. They met in art class when we were sophomores, and she was a junior at the time. She was...so beautiful. And kind.”

She looks sad at the memory, but continues. 

“One night she was driving him home and that’s when it happened. A drunk driver went through a red light and hit them.”

Zuko feels sick all of the sudden. “Wait...what? Sokka was _with_ her?”

Suki nods. “Yeah, it was all really scary. They were both taken to the hospital, but Sokka was the only one who made it home.”

Zuko is reeling. “Shit.”

“Between grieving her and healing from his own injuries, Sokka was a wreck and didn’t come back to school for like a month. They had been together for about a year before that so it was really hard on him. He was...depressed. He stopped drawing for a long time. He kept blaming himself even though none of it was his fault. Eventually he agreed to see a counselor because we were starting to really worry about him. And it took a long time, but I think he’s finally in a better place about it now. At least, it seems like he is.” 

“Thank you for telling me all that,” Zuko says. “I won’t say anything to him about it. I just wanted to know so I don’t say anything that might upset him.” 

Suki smiles at him and rests a hand on his forearm. “I’m glad he has you, Zuko.” 

Zuko opens his mouth to respond, but isn’t sure what to say. 

It doesn’t matter anyway, because by then Sokka is making his way back up the bleachers with an arm full of food and is laughing along with Aang about something that they can’t hear. Zuko can’t help but feel protective of him - knowing now what he’s been through. He thinks about the fact that Sokka could have been taken that night too, but for whatever reason, he survived. And Zuko is really fucking grateful for that. 

The marching band plays their set, and afterwards they head down towards the field. The crowd is hard to squeeze through, and they’re having a hard time locating Toph, until Zuko feels someone punch him in the arm.

“Hey freaks,” says Toph. “What’d you think of our show?”

Zuko turns around and smiles at her. He wants to ask how she knew where they were, but then he thought better of it. He knew by now not to underestimate her. 

“Compelling, as always Toph,” Sokka says, sarcasm dripping off every word. 

She sticks her tongue out at him. 

Sokka continues. “But seriously though, you guys need to pick some new songs. I’m getting tired of hearing _eye of tiger_ every week.”

“Not my call, sparky, but I hear ya.”

“I liked it,” Zuko says, trying to be supportive. 

Toph laughs. “Try playing it every single week and then tell me how you feel.”

She leaves them a few minutes later to go back to the band stand, and as they start to make their way back towards the bleachers, Zuko hears behind him-

“Ow, _shit_.”

He turns to see Sokka leaning over, hand gripping his left leg. He winces for a moment and then looks up to see Zuko, walking back to check on him. 

“Are you...okay?” Zuko asks.

Sokka nods and then tries to stand up straight. “Yeah, yeah, I uhh. Old injury. It’s usually fine but when the weather starts getting colder sometimes I get flare ups.”

“I know what you mean. Can you walk?” 

“Yeah...I can walk but I don’t think I’m gonna be able to get back up the bleachers right now.”

“That’s okay,” Zuko says, trying to reassure him. “We can go somewhere else.” 

Sokka nods and says, “Alright. Follow me.” 

They make their way behind the bleachers and find a quiet(er) spot to sit down. “This will do,” Sokka says, smiling now. “Let’s just hope some rando doesn’t come up to us and try to sell us weed.”

Zuko laughs at this, but then gets serious again when Sokka winces as he sits down in the grass, stretching his leg out in front of him.

“Are you sure you’re okay?” he asks. 

Sokka smiles to himself. “Yeah, I’m good. It’ll pass. Always does.”

Zuko nods, and sits across from him. 

Sokka pulls out his phone and starts scrolling when he asks, “What did you mean before - that you knew what I meant? Like about my leg hurting in colder weather?”

“Oh, um.” The question throws him for a moment, but he answers anyway. “My scar, it...does that too sometimes.”

They haven't talked about his scar yet and honestly, he’s willing to tell Sokka more about it, but this just really isn’t the time or place.

Sokka’s looking at him, absorbing the information. “Does it...hurt right now?”

Zuko shakes his head. “No, not right now. All good.” 

Sokka nods, and looks back at his phone. He doesn’t ask anymore questions about Zuko’s scar, instead deciding to change the subject. “I found a new song you might like today. Wanna hear?”

“Yeah, sure.” 

Sokka reaches into his pocket and pulls out a pair of wired earbuds. “Here, come over here and we can use these. Otherwise it’s kinda hard to hear with the game going on and whatnot.”

Zuko moves to sit next to Sokka, and takes one of the earbuds, placing it in his right ear, as Sokka places the other in his left, and presses play. 

> **_I don't believe in fate_ **
> 
> **_Nor psychic vision_ **
> 
> **_But when things fall into place - superposition_ **
> 
> **_In any universe you are my dark star_ **
> 
> **_I want you to want me_ **
> 
> **_Why don't we rely on chemistry?_ **
> 
> **_Why don't we collide the spaces that divide us?_ **
> 
> **_I want you to want me_ **
> 
> **_No matter what we do_ **
> 
> **_I'll be there with you_ **

They have to scoot closer together so the earbuds don’t fall out, but Sokka doesn’t seem to notice or care about their close proximity. Zuko, on the other hand, is suddenly _very_ aware of just how close they are when Sokka looks at him with an expectant smile, his hair falling into his face. 

“I love it,” Zuko says. “The song, I mean.”

Sokka laughs. “Hah! I knew it. Alright, I’m adding it to your playlist.”

“You...made a playlist for me?” he asks, surprised. Zuko can’t tell if it’s just the cold weather or if Sokka is blushing, but his cheeks look flushed all of the sudden. 

“Yeah, uh...I make one for all my friends.”

Zuko smiles. “I can’t wait to hear it. You have good taste.”

“Damn right I do! I’ll work on it tonight and show it to you tomorrow at school, okay?”

“Sounds good to me." 

* * *

And Sokka would have done that, but when he arrived at school the next morning, Zuko was nowhere to be found. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) As much as I love Zuko, I don't think Sokka's traumas are addressed as much as they should be. A lot of fics I've read tend to focus heavily on Zuko and people caring for him, which is great, but I wanted to show the way that others care about Sokka, too. 
> 
> 2) Song at the end is Superposition by Young the Giant 
> 
> 3) I'm extremely happy about the concept of cheerleader Aang. and cheer captain Suki. And Toph being a marching band nerd just felt RIGHT you know?! 
> 
> 4) I know this chapter was basically all Zuko POV but we'll get more from Sokka's POV in the next one :) 
> 
> 5) I'm aware that most juniors in hs can't drive without an adult there but like. just go with it be cool
> 
> 6) The scene where they sit behind the bleachers was inspired by the Local Natives song "Garden of Elysian". It also was a big inspo for this fic in general, so give it a listen :) 
> 
> 7) SORRY for the cliffhanger, i couldn't resist. chp. 5 will be up soon!
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	5. Five

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Zuko has a dark day. Sokka tries to make him feel better.

“I don’t know what’s going on,” Sokka says, pushing food around his lunch tray. “I texted him earlier but he hasn’t responded yet. That’s not like him.”

“Maybe he just got sick or something,” Katara says. “I’m sure he’s fine.”

Sokka's brows furrow with worry and she empathizes with him, remembering that he has a very real fear of people he cares about getting hurt and feeling powerless to do anything about it, so she gives a suggestion. “Look, why don’t you just drop me off at home after school and then go by the Jasmine Dragon and check on him?” 

Sokka sighs and nods. “Okay. Thanks Katara.” 

* * *

He enters the tea room to find Iroh serving a table of guests. Iroh meets his eyes and smiles sympathetically, nodding his head to encourage Sokka to come inside. 

Sokka sits at the counter, and Iroh sets out a cast iron tea cup in front of him, and one for himself. Sokka thinks he can hear music coming from upstairs. Solemn and bittersweet melodies on the piano drift around them, and it’s beautiful. His attention is caught again when Iroh sits across from him and begins to speak. 

“So, Mr. Piandao. I guess you are wondering where my nephew is. Otherwise you would not be here with such a look of worry on your face.” 

“Yeah, I...when he wasn’t at school today I got worried. He seemed fine last night.”

“Ah, yes,” Iroh says. “Spending time with you all has been a good distraction for him. He probably thought best to leave today’s thoughts for today.”

“I’m sorry,” Sokka responds, growing a little more impatient. “Is he okay or not? Like is he here?”

“Yes, yes,” Iroh reassures him. “Zuko is alright. Forgive me, Sokka, I must explain. You see, every year on this day for the last 5 years, I have allowed Zuko to stay home from school so he can process the anniversary in peace.”

Sokka looks at him with confusion. This guy seriously knows how to talk in circles. “Anniversary of what?” 

“His mother’s passing, of course.” 

_Oh._ Sokka sits back, the weight of that statement settling in his chest. He figured Zuko’s mother had passed away, but deep down he’d hoped that wasn’t the case, for Zuko’s sake. He hadn't had a chance to ask him about it yet. “I’m sorry,” he says. “I remember her...I remember that she was sick.” 

Iroh nods solemnly. “As you can imagine, Zuko took it very hard. Both of the children did.” 

“Is Azula here too?”

“No,” he says. “Azula...grieves and processes in her own way. I gave her the option but I think she would rather keep moving forward. Zuko, however, usually accepts the time to stop and reflect.” 

“So what, he just stays home all day?” 

Iroh nods. “When we were still in Omashu, we would visit her grave as well. But it’s a bit too far to visit right now, so he elects to stay at home. I try not to bother him during this time unless he wants to talk. Otherwise, I leave him to rest, or play his music.” 

“Wait, the music coming from upstairs...that’s him?”

“Oh, yes,” Iroh says, smiling fondly. “He’s very talented...been playing for a long time. Some time after you moved away his mother began teaching him when she was able to. He’s kept it up ever since. I think it calms him to play.”

Sokka can understand the feeling - he was always using music to calm himself down. 

“After his mother passed, and after what happened with his father-” Iroh stops abruptly as though he’s said something he’s not supposed to, but then continues. “When he and Azula first came to live with me, he was so full of anger. It was often directed at me, though I know he didn’t mean it. He was just grieving. When we would have arguments, I would often find him afterwards playing on his piano - his mother’s piano. He’s done that ever since, if he’s nervous, or processing something that otherwise he has difficulty talking about.” 

Sokka nods in understanding. He remembers how the first time Zuko had invited them to visit the Jasmine Dragon, he'd heard the music, too. But what would Zuko have been so nervous about then? 

They sit there and drink their tea in silence as Sokka processes all of this information. After a few minutes, he speaks again. “Why didn’t he tell me about any of this?”

Iroh sets his cup down and begins to pour another. “He probably just didn’t want to burden you with it. That’s something we’re working on. But I wouldn’t take it personally, young Sokka. I know that he trusts you.”

Sokka nods. “I just wish there was something I could do to help.” 

“You being his friend is enough,” Iroh says. “But some wounds must be felt, and we cannot protect those we love from everything that may hurt them. I’m sure he will tell you more about it in time. Until then, we have to let him grieve and process however he needs to. It was so difficult for him to lose his mother, especially after losing someone else very special to him.” 

Sokka meets his eyes and knows he’s talking about him. He’s not sure what to say. 

“Do you want me to tell him you’re here?” Iroh asks. 

Sokka finishes his tea and sets the cup down. “No, uh. That’s okay. Just tell him I stopped by? And he can text me later if he needs to.”

“Very well,” Iroh says. He reaches over and presses a hand to Sokka’s forearm. “I’m glad he has you, young Sokka.”

Sokka gives a small grateful smile in return, and heads home. 

* * *

The next morning, Sokka’s talking with Suki at their lockers when something catches Suki’s eye behind him. He turns to see Zuko, who waves awkwardly. 

Sokka looks back at Suki, who nods in understanding. “I’ll go save our seats in home room.” 

Suki walks away from them, and Zuko comes over, looking nervous. “Hey,” he says.

“Hey,” Sokka replies. 

The air between them is tense for a moment, until Zuko speaks again. “I just wanted to say sorry, for not telling you about yesterday, I-” 

“Zuko it’s okay,” Sokka interjects. “You don’t have to apologize.”

“No, I do,” he says. He looks down with a frustrated sigh. “It wasn’t right of me to not answer you back, I didn’t even think-”

“Hey,” Sokka says, trying to get Zuko to look at him. “Seriously, it’s okay. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

Zuko gives a grateful smile. “Uncle told me you stopped by. You didn’t have to do that.” 

“Yeah,” he answers, smiling. “Yeah, I did.” 

Zuko tries not to smile, and idly scratches the back of his ear. “Well...thanks for that.”

“You’d do the same for me.” 

Zuko nods. “Yeah, I would.” 

“Okay,” Sokka says. “Then we’re good?”

“Yeah, all good.” 

* * *

_Seven Years Ago_

> _Iroh’s son died at a young age. Zuko didn’t remember much about his cousin, but he knew that Iroh was still very sad about it. Since his son’s death, he put his energy into looking out for Zuko and Azula, and Ursa too. His brother Ozai had anger issues, Iroh knew this, and there were many nights that he played mediator for Ursa, stepping in to stop his brother from taking it too far. He’d urged Ursa countless times to leave his brother, for her own safety as well as the children’s. But Ursa was always too afraid to leave. So Iroh did his best with daily visits to make sure they were okay._
> 
> _Ursa’s health had continued to decline, slowly but steadily. She did her best to take care of the children, but most days, Iroh came over to help make dinner, and watch after them while Ozai was at work. He never liked leaving at the end of the day. Every day when he left to go home, he would give Zuko and Azula big hugs, telling them to be safe and look out for their mother, and each other._
> 
> _When Zuko was in 5th grade, his mother’s health finally took a turn for the worst. A few days prior, Iroh found her collapsed on the floor of the kitchen, unconscious. Zuko listened to Iroh’s conversations with the doctors even though he knew he shouldn’t, but he loved his mother and just wanted to know what was going on. Every night since she collapsed, he crouched outside her bedroom door and listened closely. Tonight was no different. It was hard to make out what they were saying, but he heard the word “hospice” mentioned a few times. He didn’t know what it meant, but suddenly he felt very, very nauseous._
> 
> _He ran to the only place he knew he could be alone - the tree house. He wished more than anything that Sokka was still around, so they could talk about it, or play a game to take Zuko’s mind off of everything. But Sokka was gone. It’d been over a year since he’d seen or spoken to him. He didn’t have a phone number to call, and he didn’t even know where the Piandao’s had moved to._
> 
> _He was alone, but not for long. Somehow, Iroh knew where to find him. As carefully as he could, Iroh climbed the ladder and sat next to Zuko, enveloping him in a hug. There were tears in his eyes, too. He didn’t need to say anything. Zuko knew what it meant._
> 
> _That evening, his mother was lucid enough to speak for the first time in days. Iroh went in her room first, and then encouraged the children to come inside. Azula was scared, but Zuko held her hand and reassured her. The sight of his mother laying in bed sick wasn’t new to them, but this time felt different._
> 
> _Ursa turned her head and smiled sweetly at them. “Come here, my loves. It’s alright.”_
> 
> _Cautiously, Zuko and Azula crawled into bed with their mother and sat at her sides. Ursa’s breathing was labored and it seemed to Zuko like it was hurting her, but if it was, she didn’t mention it. Ursa looked to each of them and spoke softly, but with as much feeling as she could muster._
> 
> _“I am so, so proud of both of you. My Zuko. My Azula.”_
> 
> _Both children had tears in their eyes._
> 
> _“Azula,” she said, turning to the young girl, “My little fireball. I know I don’t need to worry about you one bit. You are so strong. I know you will achieve whatever you set your mind to. I love you, my princess.”_
> 
> _Azula huddled in closer to their mother and draped an arm over her waist. “Love you too Mommy.”_
> 
> _Ursa turned to Zuko next, and lifted a free hand to cradle his face. “Zuko, my little prince. You love is deeper and wider than anyone I’ve ever known. Please don’t ever forget how wonderful and special you are. I love you, my Zuko. I need you to be brave now, okay?”_
> 
> _Zuko nodded and fell into his mother’s embrace. Two days later, she was gone._

* * *

_Present Day_

Toph leans against her locker, arms crossed. “You want me to do _what_ now?”

Sokka groans. “Come on, Toph. Help me out here.”

“Well what do I get out of it?”

“My undying love and loyalty.” 

“Nice try, but pretty sure I already have that,” she snarks.

Sokka pinches the bridge between his eyes and sighs. “Alright, fine. What do you want, Toph?” 

Toph rests her chin in her hand in a thinking posture. “Hm. Twenty bucks should do it.” 

“Are you serious?” Sokka laughs. 

“When am I not?” 

Sokka sighs again. “Fine you brat,” he says, pulling out his wallet and handing her the money. “Here.”

“Nice doing business with you,” she says. 

“Okay, so what now? What time can we do it?” 

“Well, I checked his schedule like you said. It looks like there’s a gap when he has study hall, so that should work.” 

“Great, thanks Toph.” 

“No problem, Ace. Just make sure you get your boyfriend on time and meet me at the band room.” 

“Okay, hey - what?! He’s not my boyfriend!”

Toph is already walking away from him laughing. “Whatever you say. See you in a bit!”

Sokka stands there for a moment, trying to wrap his mind around that. _She has no reason to think we’re boyfriends. All we do is regular best friend stuff,_ he thinks. _Like, always sitting together and laughing at each other’s stupid jokes and confiding in each other and yeah, Zuko is good looking but just because I think so doesn’t mean I want to date him - you know what. This is dumb. Toph doesn’t know what she’s talking about._

He heads back to class and makes a plan to go get Zuko out of study hall for his surprise. He just hopes he’ll like it.

* * *

That afternoon, Sokka makes his way towards Zuko’s class. He’s trying to be quick because he’s technically only supposed to be going to the bathroom right now but this is the only way he can get out of class. But if he gets caught, it doesn't matter anyway because he's a senior and could really care less. He just wants to do something nice for Zuko and he really hopes this will work...school rules be damned. 

He finds the class and peeks inside, trying to get Zuko’s attention without the teacher spotting him. Zuko’s sitting in the back of the room, reading something. Sokka waves his arms around and finally Zuko’s eyes lift up to see him. He shoots him a confused look, and when Sokka nods his head as if to say _get out here_ , Zuko nods and gets up. He grabs a bathroom pass and steps outside the room.

“Hey, what’s up?” he asks.

“I have a surprise for you,” Sokka answers. “But you need to come with me right now. We only have a few minutes.”

“Okay?” Zuko says tentatively. “Lead the way.” 

They walk for longer than Zuko expects, towards a wing of the school that he doesn’t usually go down. Sokka’s walking quickly and keeps looking to see if any teachers are around as he moves forward.

“Sokka, where are we going?” 

Sokka stops for a moment. “Do you trust me?”

“Of course I do.”

“Well, okay then! Hush. And follow me.”

So Zuko does, and finally they make their way to the end of the hall, where Toph is waiting for them in front of another door. 

“Hey Sokka, hey Zuko.”

 _“How did she-? Never mind,”_ he hears Zuko say. 

“Hey Toph,” Sokka whispers. “All clear?”

“It’s all yours, sparky. You have 15 minutes...I'll keep watch.”

Sokka opens the door to the band room, smiling wide as he turns to Zuko. “After you.”

The room is huge - tall ceilings (probably to help with acoustics) and walls lined with instruments and marching band gear. 

“Sokka,” Zuko says. “I don’t understand, what are we-”

“Here,” Sokka answers from the other side of the room. Zuko looks over then, to where he stands next to an upright piano. 

Zuko’s eyes grow wide and then he walks over. Nervously, Sokka starts explaining. 

“Okay, so. Your uncle told me yesterday that you liked to play because it helps you calm down and process stuff...and I told him I wished I could help you somehow and at first I didn’t think there was really anything I could do, but then I had this idea. And Toph helped me since she’s in the band and has access to this room. Anyway I just thought that maybe you’d like to be able to play here at school too, if you ever needed to. Toph said it’ll always be empty in here during your study hall period, so it worked out perfectly.”

Zuko’s been quiet this whole time, studying him. He doesn’t respond at first and Sokka starts to get even more nervous, suddenly worried that he’s overstepped some kind of invisible boundary in their friendship, but just as he starts to open his mouth to apologize, Zuko has pulled him into a hug. 

It shocks him a bit at first, because they haven’t done this since they were kids, but after a second he holds Zuko back. He closes his eyes and just lets himself fall into the moment, with Zuko’s sweatshirt soft under his hands and his hair tickling the side of his face where it's buried near Zuko's neck. After a moment Zuko finally pulls away and Sokka sees that he’s smiling as he looks over at the piano.

“Thanks Sokka, this is...I don’t really know what to say. Just thank you.”

“It’s no problem,” Sokka answers. 

Zuko sits at the piano and scoots over to leave room for Sokka, who sits at his right. “So what should I play?” Zuko asks.

Sokka laughs. “I don’t know, I guess that’s up to you.”

“Hm.” He nods, and after a moment, starts to play. Sokka recognizes the song instantly - it’s the one he first played for Zuko in his room when they were studying. He watches Zuko intently as his fingers dance over the keys, trying to ignore the way his heart rate rises and the flush he feels in his cheeks whenever Zuko’s arm brushes against his. Sokka’s not sure that he’s ever really taken a good look at Zuko this close before. His dark hair is falling over his eyes, golden as the afternoon sun shining through the window. His expression is serious as he concentrates on the music, and he’s playing it gracefully, hitting every note. When the last one echoes around them, they don’t say a word. Zuko simply looks up at him and smiles, and Sokka has a terrifying thought:

_He’s beautiful._

He locks eyes with Zuko and for just a moment, the rest of the world seems to fade away. If Zuko senses this shift, he doesn’t say anything. Neither can Sokka, before there’s a knock on the door. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) I hope you're enjoying the flashbacks! Next chapter you'll get to see how they met for the first time.
> 
> 2) The song Zuko plays for him at the end is Futile Devices by Sufjan Stevens - definitely recommend a listen if you haven't already :) 
> 
> 3) Thanks for reading, I really appreciate all the kudos and comments! they fuel me  
> 
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	6. Six

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Azula has a party. Sokka and Zuko get closer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> cw for this chapter: implied/referenced homophobia/homophobic violence, abuse, emetophobia

Sokka lets out a breath he didn’t know he was holding when Toph knocks on the door to the band room, creaking it open. “Time’s up, guys.” 

He becomes hyper aware of how close he’s sitting to Zuko, and gets up from the piano bench. “Okay, well I guess we should go...if you ever want to come in here during study hall you can. Toph will be around.” 

Zuko smiles and moves to stand up. “Thanks again, Sokka. This was really nice of you.”

On the way back to their classes, Zuko says, “So, this weekend is Azula’s birthday, and she’s having a party.”

“At the Jasmine Dragon?” Sokka smirks.

“No way. She didn’t want it there anyway, she said it wasn’t big enough. Her friend Ty Lee is letting her do it at her house because I guess she’s rich and has a big house or something, and her parents will be out of town…”

Sokka knows Ty Lee - she’s one of the cheerleaders on Suki’s team. But knowing how energetic and _peppy_ she was, he had a hard time imagining that her and Azula were friends. 

“So anyway,” Zuko continues. “You and Katara should come. Azula said I could extend the invite.”

“Oh,” Sokka says. “Yeah, that sounds fun.” 

Zuko smiles. “Ok then. It’s Saturday at 8. I can pick you guys up if you want.”

“Sounds like a plan.”

* * *

> _11 Years Ago_
> 
> _It’s the first day of first grade, and 6 year old Sokka is feeling a little nervous, but excited too. He finds his classroom and looks around for the desk with his name on it. Curious, he looks at the adjacent desks to see who he would be sitting next to._
> 
> _He reads a name that he doesn’t recognize on the desk next to him:_ **_Zuko_ ** _._
> 
> _He shrugs and gets settled in his new desk, taking out his pencil case and a morning snack._
> 
> _A few minutes later, a woman with long black hair and a young boy enter the classroom. The boy has long black hair too, pulled into a ponytail._
> 
> _Kind of like me, Sokka thinks._
> 
> _He appears nervous as he looks around the room. The woman is talking with their teacher. Sokka thinks he hears her mention “new here” and “feeling a little scared.”_
> 
> _The teacher kneels down in front of the boy and says something, and then points to Sokka. The boy nods and takes the woman’s hand, who leads him over to his desk._
> 
> _“Sokka,” the teacher says, “this is Zuko. He’s new at our school. Will you try to help him get settled in?”_
> 
> _Sokka nods and waves at Zuko, who just looks down at his feet._
> 
> _He doesn’t think Zuko likes him very much, because every time he tries to talk to him, he only gets short responses or nothing at all. What’s this kid’s problem, anyway?_
> 
> _Sokka keeps trying to be nice though, because that’s just how he is. He shares his crayons, and invites Zuko to sit with him at lunch. He introduces him to his sister Katara when they’re outside for recess. He invites Zuko to play soccer with the group but Zuko declines, choosing to sit on the side and watch._
> 
> _And that’s how the first couple of weeks go. Sokka keeps trying to be Zuko’s friend, but Zuko is still shy. Sokka doesn’t really mind now. Zuko seemed nice enough. And sometimes he would catch Zuko laughing at something he said, and that felt nice._
> 
> _Everything changes one day when he's walking home with Katara from school, hand in hand as they’d always done. Sokka always tries to look out for her, because he was the big brother and that was his job. At least that’s what their mom had told him, before she passed away last year._
> 
> _They’re walking in silence when suddenly he feels Katara flinch next to him. “Ow!”_
> 
> _A small rock tumbles at her feet, and they both look up to see a couple of older boys standing in front of them._
> 
> _“Where ya goin?” one boy says, crossing his arms with a smug smile on his face. Sokka grips Katara’s hand tighter._
> 
> _“Please move. We have to go home,” he says._
> 
> _The other boy laughs. “Make us.”_
> 
> _Sokka tries to step around them but the boys just move over to block him. He tries again, but one of them shoves him in the shoulder, knocking him over. “What are you gonna do, brat?”_
> 
> _Katara starts to cry and runs over to Sokka. From behind them, Sokka hears,_
> 
> _“Hey, Jerk!”_
> 
> _They turn to see Zuko, of all people, standing there with his hands balled into fists, ready to fight. The boys laugh, but before they can do anything, Zuko is running at them. He kicks one in the shin, hard, and elbows the other in the stomach, making them both fall over. The boys look at each other, suddenly scared, and scramble to get up before they run away, leaving the three of them behind._
> 
> _Zuko turns to Sokka and extends a hand to help him up. “You okay?”_
> 
> _“Yeah, yeah I’m fine. Thank you.” He looks at Zuko’s outstretched hand, and takes it._

* * *

_Present Day_

Zuko definitely under exaggerated how big Ty Lee’s house really is, and Sokka stares at it mouth agape as they pull up to the gated mansion.

“Holy shit,” he mutters. “You didn’t say she lived in the fucking _Beverly Hills_ of Ember Island.”

Zuko chuckles. “How was I supposed to know?”

They can hear the tell-tale sounds of music thumping from inside as they walk up the driveway. Once inside, they’re immediately greeted by Ty Lee, who’s all smiles and bouncing around excitedly. “Hey guys!! Welcome!! Ok so, food’s in the kitchen, _obviously,_ we have some alcohol too if you want any but I have to know who your designated driver is first.”

“Oh, that’s me I guess,” Zuko answers. “I drove us.”

Ty Lee extends a hand towards him. “Keys, please!” 

Zuko hands them over to her. After what he’s been through, Sokka is glad that they’re taking it seriously. 

Ty Lee takes the keys and then continues. “ _We have a big patio out back, and there’s also a game room, and theater room, and….”_

Ty Lee babbles on and Sokka starts to wonder _god how many rooms does this place have? Surely there can’t be more._ But he doesn’t have a chance to ask, because Azula rounds the corner, walking arm in arm with another girl who he's never seen before. She’s got long dark hair partially pulled up into space buns, and an expression that Sokka can only identify as resting bitch face. Upon seeing her, Zuko’s grin widens.

“Mai?!”

The girl smiles and runs towards Zuko, throwing her arms around him. Sokka and Katara stand back awkwardly, and Sokka shrugs when Katara questions who she is.

Azula steps towards them. “Did you really think I’d have a party without inviting her? Ember Island is fine but I basically hate everyone except for Ty Lee, so I had no choice.”

Zuko steps back and keeps smiling at Mai, who steps back and crosses her arms. “You look good,” she says. “It’s nice to see you.”

“You too,” he says. He makes eye contact with Sokka then and clears his throat. “Oh, shit, sorry - Mai, these are my friends Sokka and Katara. Guys,” he says turning to them, “this is my friend Mai. We went to high school together back in Omashu.”

They all kind of awkwardly nod at each other and then a look of realization crosses Mai’s face. She turns to Zuko. “Wait, Sokka... _that_ Sokka?”

Zuko’s face goes red, but he doesn’t answer her. He turns back to Katara and Sokka, pushing them towards the kitchen. “Who’s hungry? I’m starving.”

Sokka looks back at Mai in confusion, but she just smiles as she watches them walk away.

* * *

Azula must have given Sokka fake directions because he’s been looking for the bathroom in this goddamn place for way too long and just keeps taking wrong turns. He finally finds it after about 15 minutes of searching, and on the way back, he runs into Mai. 

“Hey, Sokka-”

“Hey Mai. I just saw Azula, if you’re looking for her.” 

“Actually, no” she answers pointedly. “I was looking for you.” 

“Oh, uh...okay. What’s up?”

Mai steps closer to him and crosses her arms again. Sokka isn’t sure if he should feel threatened or at ease but Mai was impossible to read - her facial expression remained flat as she spoke. 

“Look, I don’t know how else to say this, other than be careful. With Zuko, I mean.” 

Sokka can feel his ears turning red. “What are you talking about?”

“What I mean is, Zuko is really important to me, and I try to look out for him. So please don’t do anything to hurt him, or you’ll have me to answer to. And probably Azula, too.”

Sokka is taken aback by this. “Mai, I don’t know what you think I’m gonna do to him but I have no intention of hurting Zuko. We’ve known each other for a long time, and he’s my friend. He’s my best friend, actually.”

“You may have known him before all of us did,” she responds, “but you weren’t there for _a lot_ of shit over the last few years, too. I know that’s not your fault. I’m just asking you to look out for him too, okay? He trusts you.” 

Sokka nods. “You don’t have to ask.” 

Mai nods, satisfied with his response, and starts to walk away, but Sokka speaks up again.

“Hey, Mai - can I ask you something?”

She sighs and turns back. “You can ask but that doesn’t mean I’ll answer.”

“Fair enough...I was just wondering - are you and Zuko like...a thing? Or were you before he moved?”

He swears he sees the ghost of a smile on her face but she doesn’t break. “Uh, yeah. We did date for a little while. But we stopped because - “

She stops before finishing the thought, and looks as if she’s contemplating how to phrase it. “We just realized we were better off as friends, is all.” 

Sokka nods because he understands the feeling. The same thing happened with him and Suki. 

Mai walks away from him then and Sokka tries to process what just happened but he’s not even sure where to start. What stuff was she talking about? Zuko had finally told him about his mother’s death, and he knew that at some point something happened with his father too but he hadn’t opened up about that yet. Come to think of it, Sokka still didn’t know how he got the scar, either...it wasn’t the kind of thing that he wanted to bring attention to if Zuko wasn’t comfortable with it. He figured Zuko would tell him when he was ready, but maybe it wouldn't hurt to ask at some point.

* * *

“ _Come onnnnnn_ ,” Sokka pleads, shouting over the music. 

Zuko shakes his head. “No, seriously I don’t dance-”

Sokka’s been trying to convince him to dance with them for about 5 minutes with no luck. “But it’s so _funn_!!” he says. “I thought you liked Gaga?!”

“I do, I'm just not a good dancer, Sokka - “

“It’s not about being _good,_ I mean have you been watching him at all?” Katara says, laughing.

Zuko isn’t able to protest anymore, because they’ve both pulled him into the middle of the floor anyway. He can’t help but smile as he tries to dance along to the beat. Sokka’s had a couple drinks already and he’s having the time of his life. He doesn’t seem to care what he looks like whatsoever. So Zuko decides to let go a little and just enjoy himself. 

And he does - it’s hard not to when he’s surrounded by all of his good friends and _Sokka_ and the music is good and _Sokka_ is there looking cute as he dances around, and - 

“How’s it going, Sozin?”

A voice from behind him catches his attention, but not in a good way. He knows that voice. 

_Jet._

“What the fuck are you doing here?” Zuko says, unable to help the anger bubbling up at seeing him.

Jet smirks, “I was invited.” 

“Not technically,” Mai says, moving over to Zuko’s right side, almost protective. “He came with someone else as a plus one. He wasn’t invited. And I think he knows exactly what he’s doing.” 

Jet looks at her with daggers in his eyes. “Why don't you mind your fucking business, Mai? Jesus. This is between him and me,” he says pointing to Zuko. 

“There is nothing between you and me, Jet. You need to leave.” Zuko says, seething. He hopes Sokka and Katara don’t notice the way his hands are balling into fists at his sides, but after a moment he senses a presence at his left side. Sokka.

Jet’s eyes move over to him and a sly smile spreads on his face. “Well, who do we have here? You’ve been here, what, a few months and already have a boyfriend?” 

Sokka speaks up. “Hey, asshole. The name is Sokka and I’m his friend. What’s your problem?” 

Jet starts to move in Zuko’s direction. “Again, my problem is just with him.”

He steps into Zuko’s space. Zuko wants nothing more than to smack this cocky bastard clear into next Tuesday, but it’s his sister’s party and Sokka is here and he _really_ was not expecting any of this, so he tries to stay calm.

“What, Sozin? Got something to say? Or do I need to tell them for you? Like I did last time.”

There’s a ringing in his ears and Zuko feels like his blood is _boiling_. “Leave, Jet. _Now_. I swear to god.”

Sokka interjects. “Look man, maybe you should just go.”

Jet starts to move in Sokka’s direction but suddenly Zuko’s hands are on Jet’s chest pushing him away. “Fuck off, Jet-”

Before they can do anything else, Sokka stands between them, with hands held up to hold them off. Zuko can feel his right hand pressing against his chest, and senses that Sokka’s trying to make eye contact with him, but he can’t tear his eyes away from Jet right now...he’s too angry. Sokka speaks low. “Hey, Zuko. He’s not worth it. Let’s just get out of here-”

“What the _FUCK_?” 

Someone is shouting from across the room. Sokka whips his head around and they see Azula, walking over with a fury in her eyes. And it’s _terrifying_. 

She gets in Jet’s face and shoves him in the chest, unafraid. “How the FUCK did you get in here? You know you're not welcome here you absolute piece of shit. Get the fuck out before I kick your ass myself.”

Jet stares her down too, chest rising and falling quickly as he becomes aware that suddenly all eyes are on him. In a huff, he finally walks away and out the front door. Mai goes to speak to Azula, and when Sokka turns back to check on Zuko, he’s gone. 

* * *

Zuko searches all over the house for a quiet place to gather his thoughts, and eventually finds a guest bedroom with a balcony overlooking the garden. He shivers as he steps outside, the cold night air bracing around him. Part of him is grateful for it, because his head is spinning and he still feels flushed and the cold air is helping ground him, even for just a moment. He leans against the railing and takes a few deep breaths.

A couple of minutes pass and then he hears the door to the balcony sliding slowly open. He turns to see Sokka, who has a look of relief on his face.

“Hey,” Sokka says quietly.

Zuko looks at him and sighs. “Hey.”

Sokka steps up next to his left side and leans against the railing too. “You okay?” 

“Yeah, I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to leave you in there. I just needed a minute.”

“That guy’s an asshole,” Sokka says. “Don’t let him ruin your night.”

Zuko smirks. “Yeah, he is. He’s also my ex.”

If there was ever going to be a time to explain himself, Zuko figures it’s now. He hadn’t told Sokka he was gay yet. It just...wasn’t something that had come up. But he reasons with himself that it’s safe to tell him, considering his dad was married to another man, and he had no reason to think Sokka wouldn’t be accepting.

“Damn,” Sokka says. “You really know how to pick ‘em.”

He shoots Sokka a confused look and Sokka smiles. “Mai told me you guys dated, too.”

Zuko chuckles to himself and nods. “Yeah, only we broke up for very different reasons.”

“She said you guys were better off as friends.”

“Yeah, that and...I’m gay.”

He takes a second before looking back up at Sokka, who just smiles sweetly at him. “Thanks for telling me that.” 

Zuko nods. “It’s not exactly the way I wanted to tell you, but it is what it is, I guess.”

“Well,” Sokka starts, “If it makes you feel any better, I guess you should know that I’m bi. There, now you aren’t the only one with an awkward coming out moment tonight.”

The statement settles between them and Zuko feels like a weight’s been lifted off his chest that he didn’t know was there. Sokka was _bi_. Sokka was into guys too...which means he stood a fighting chance.

“Thanks, Sokka.”

Sokka nods and for a moment they just stand there, looking out over the garden, watching their breath form clouds in the cold night air in front of them. It’s nice, and Zuko’s feeling really good about everything, until he starts to feel a familiar ache starting near his eye.

“Ah, _shit_ ,” he says, wincing. 

“What’s wrong?” Sokka says, voice laced with concern. 

Zuko keeps wincing but can’t really open his eyes right now, it’s starting to _throb_ and _damn this cold weather for ruining that moment._

“My...scar,” he manages to say. “It’s flaring up...because of the cold.”

He hears the sound of hands rubbing together, and squints to see Sokka hold his hands up to his mouth, breathing quick, hot breaths into them. Before Zuko can do anything, Sokka’s cradling his face, a hand just over his scar. “Better?”

It’s _warm_ and _comforting_ and Zuko can’t help the sigh of relief that escapes his mouth as the ache eases up. He really doesn't understand what he’d done to deserve a friend as wonderful as Sokka.

“Maybe we should go back inside,” Sokka notes, taking his hand back. “It’s fucking freezing out here. I’m surprised my leg hasn’t acted up yet, either.”

Zuko nods and they walk back inside, both sighing happily as the warm air surrounds them. Zuko’s about to head back down to the party, when he hears Sokka talk again.

“Hey, Zuko?”

“Yeah?”

He looks nervous, leaning against a dresser in the bedroom. Zuko’s not sure if he’s having trouble standing up from the alcohol he’s had or what, but he waits for Sokka to gather his thoughts. 

“I just was wondering, if maybe you could tell me about it. Your scar, I mean.”

And he must’ve seen the way Zuko’s face drops because he continues quickly. “-But, you absolutely don’t have to if you don’t want to talk about it. I just want you to know that you can, if you want.”

Zuko nods and takes a deep breath. “No, it’s okay. I figured you’ve been curious.” 

“Kind of hard not to be,” Sokka says, and then backtracks again. “Not that it makes any difference, like...you still look good. I mean, not that I think you look _good_ but you know what I mean, shit-”

Even though it’s a serious topic, Zuko can’t help but smile at how cute Sokka gets when he’s flustered. “Sokka, it’s okay. Seriously.”

Sokka just nods, grateful to be let off the hook for that. Zuko moves over to the bed and sits at the edge of it, and begins to explain. 

“Mai and I dated in 9th grade and then broke up because I realized I was gay. Then in 10th grade Jet and I started secretly dating. For me, it was because my dad was a homophobic asshole, among other things, and for Jet it was because he hadn’t completely accepted the fact that he was into guys yet.”

“So,” he continues, “eventually some of Jet’s friends found out, and he got _so_ angry and embarrassed, and took out his internalized homophobia on me by outing me at school and acting like nothing had happened with us. Word travels fast and somehow my dad found out. Iroh tried to stick up for me but when I saw my dad lift a hand towards him I couldn’t just stand there, so I fought back too. And he burned me.” 

He hasn’t talked about this incident in a while, not since the early days of therapy, anyway. He realizes then he’s been crying, as he feels a tear fall onto his shirt. The next thing he knows, Sokka’s walked over and is pulling him into a hug. Zuko wraps his arms around his middle and buries his face in the soft fabric of Sokka’s flannel shirt, breathing him in. It’s quiet in the room apart from their breathing, and the sound of Sokka's heartbeat steady against his ear. Sokka’s arms are sure around his shoulders. An errant hand rubs the back of Zuko’s head as he tries to steady his breathing, and he can swear he feels a kiss being placed on the crown of his head. “I’m so sorry,” Sokka whispers against his hair. “I had no idea it was like that.” Sokka squeezes him again, as if trying to protect him from the memory.

Zuko takes that moment to look up. 

Sokka’s right hand lifts to cradle the scarred side of Zuko’s face again, caressing it gently with his thumb. He’s smiling at him sweetly now and leans over, until their faces are just a breath’s width apart. Zuko’s breathing quickens again and he doesn’t know what to do. Sokka’s head turns ever so slightly, and he lays a soft kiss to Zuko’s scar. 

Zuko’s eyes close as he does it, overwhelmed with the weight of how much Sokka cares for him. He opens them again and sees that Sokka hasn’t backed away yet. He’s still smiling at Zuko and he’s starting to sway a little bit where he stands but Zuko’s holding him steady. He keeps looking between Zuko’s eyes and lips, eventually leaning in closer, until their foreheads rest together, noses barely brushing.

Zuko really truly feels frozen to the spot. He wants to just surge forward and _kiss_ Sokka because he’s always had feelings for him whether he wants to admit it or not, and he never thought in a million years that they would get to this point. But he also knows Sokka’s probably had too much to drink and might not be doing this otherwise.

Before he can put a stop to it, Sokka’s falling to the floor, hunched over and vomiting on the carpet. 

“ _Shit_ , Sokka-” 

He scrambles to the floor next to him, trying to help him sit back up. Sokka looks up at him, repentant. “‘ _M sorry, Zuko...don’t feel suh good all of the sudden…_ ”

Zuko thinks quickly. “Okay, it’s okay...let me go find Katara and we’ll get out of here, alright?” 

Sokka groans as he lets Zuko sit him up against the bed, and Zuko shuts the door behind him when he leaves. He takes a second to take a deep breath, because _they almost kissed_ and he has no clue what to do or how to feel about that. He knew Sokka cared about him...he’d already shown him that so many times, but this was obviously different. 

Katara enters the room with Zuko a few minutes later and is shocked to see her brother hunched over on the floor. “What the fuck, Sokka?” she says, concerned. “You look like shit.”

Sokka smirks, bopping her on the nose. “That’s _Mr. Shit_ to you, young lady.” 

“We have to get you home,” she says, turning to look at Zuko. “Go get your keys, okay? It’s time to go.” 

Zuko nods and does as she says. He tries to explain to Ty Lee why they’re leaving so abruptly, but she tells him not to worry and helps them sneak out another entrance to the house so that no one sees how wrecked Sokka is. 

They get back to the Piandao’s house, and Zuko drapes one of Sokka’s arms around his shoulders, his other arm around Sokka’s middle to help him walk inside. Katara checks the way ahead of them to make sure Hakoda and Bato are asleep, and nods when the coast is clear. She takes Sokka’s other arm and helps Zuko get him upstairs to his room. Sokka stumbles towards the bed and Zuko holds on to his arm to make sure he doesn’t fall over. Katara runs back out for a moment, returning with a big cup of water. “Drink this,” she says, handing it over to Sokka. 

Sokka scoffs at her and doesn’t take it. Katara sighs and hands it to Zuko instead. “Here, see if you can get him to drink this,” she says. “I’m done, and I’m going to bed now. Thanks for inviting us to the party. It was actually fun, until this idiot decided to drink too much.”

She walks out in a huff, leaving them alone in Sokka’s room. 

The scene is not unlike the first time they studied in here, with Zuko sitting at Sokka’s desk, facing the side of the bed where Sokka sits. Only now, Sokka was _very_ drunk and Zuko was tasked with taking care of him. 

Sokka’s eyes are closed and he’s smiling. At what, Zuko isn’t sure. “Hey, hey Sokka-” he says, trying to get his attention. 

Sokka’s head dips forward and then jerks back again as it wakes him up somewhat. He blinks his eyes a few times and then laughs.

“God, you're _plastered_ ,” Zuko says, trying not to laugh too.

“And _you-_ ” Sokka says, pointing at Zuko. “ _Are v’ery prettyy.”_

Zuko blushes. First Sokka almost kisses him, and now he's telling him that he looks pretty. This night could not get any more bizarre. 

“Thank you,” he responds. “You’re pretty too.”

 _“Pffffffff,”_ he responds. _“Not as much as youuuu_ , _Pretty McPretty Face_.”

He tries to lean forward to poke Zuko’s arm, but almost falls off the bed. Zuko catches him, and helps him back up. “Alright, I think you’ve had enough fun for tonight.”

Sokka makes a pouty face. “ _But I don’t wanna go to sleeeeep_.” 

“Okay then,” Zuko says. He picks up the water again and hands it over to Sokka. “Can you at least drink some of this?” 

Sokka shoots a glare at him but takes the water anyway, taking a few big gulps. By no means does he do this gracefully, as water drips down his chin and onto his shirt. He just laughs and wipes it off with his shirt sleeve. 

“Better?” Zuko asks. 

His eyes squeeze shut. _“‘...'m tired.”_

“Why don’t you lay down and try to go to sleep?”

Sokka nods and falls back onto the bed. Zuko gets up and turns out his nightstand light, and moves to walk away when he feels a hand brush his. 

“ _Zuko_... _stay_.”

“Sokka, I can’t.”

_“Just for a’minute?”_

Zuko sighs. Sometimes it was really impossible to say no to him. 

Sokka scoots over on the bed and pats the empty side, and Zuko tentatively lays next to him. He lays on his back, interlacing his fingers across his stomach as he stares up at the ceiling. Sokka is laying on his side facing him. It’s quiet for a couple minutes, and Zuko thinks Sokka’s finally fallen asleep, when he hears him just barely whisper,

_“Yurr..so nice.”_

Zuko chuckles to himself but doesn’t answer. He looks over at Sokka, whose eyes are closed. Sokka continues.

“ _Jet’s an asshole...I would never do that t’you. I like you toooo much._ ”

Zuko answers back. “I like you too, Sokka.”

Sokka smiles, but still doesn’t open his eyes as sleep slowly pulls him under. “ _Mm. That’s nice_.”

Zuko smiles and rolls his eyes. After a few more minutes, it’s clear that Sokka’s finally fallen asleep. So Zuko gets up slowly from his bed, and tries to leave without waking him, but not before taking one last glance at his best friend, asleep and safe in his own bed. 

* * *

Business is slow, so Zuko sits across from Sokka at the table, where he’s nursing some peppermint tea that Iroh gave him for his “headache” which was really just a massive hangover. It doesn’t seem to be helping much, because he keeps closing his eyes and rubbing his temples periodically. Zuko takes that time to work up some courage, knowing that they need to talk about what _almost_ happened last night. 

“So…” he says, “are we not gonna talk about it?” Zuko asks.

Sokka’s brows furrow. “What do you mean?” 

“Sokka, you know what I’m talking about.”

“No I really don’t.” He sits back and meets Zuko’s eyes. _He’s telling the truth,_ Zuko thinks. _But that means..._

“What’s the last thing you remember?”

Sokka rubs his temples again. “I don’t know. I think we were dancing. No, we were upstairs? And... _oh_ ,” he says, sighing. “You told me about Jet, and about your scar.” 

“Yeah…” Zuko says. “Anything else?” 

He wants to add - _Like maybe almost fucking kissing me? And calling me pretty? And asking me to lay in your bed with you while you fell asleep??? -_ but he doesn’t, giving Sokka a moment to think.

Sokka shakes his head. “The last thing I remember is hugging you after you told me about it. It’s blank after that until I woke up in my own bed this morning.” 

“Oh...okay.” Zuko says, dejected.

_Sokka doesn’t remember any of it. Now what? Is he just supposed to keep pretending like it didn’t happen?_

“Wait, you -” Sokka starts, “had to help carry me upstairs, didn’t you? Shit. I hope I didn’t do anything else embarrassing. I’m sorry, Zuko.”

Zuko considers just telling him, but shakes his head instead. 

_Oh Sokka, if you only knew._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> 1) Sokka is pure of heart and dumb of ass so of course he would get drunk and forget almost kissing his best friend...I'm a sucker for that trope. SORRY NOT SORRY 
> 
> 2) I'm not a Jet fan lol
> 
> 3) Right now I have at least 2 more chapters planned for this fic, just giving a heads up :) 
> 
> 4) Ozai rot in hell challenge
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	7. Seven

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sokka has an art show. Zuko makes a confession.

Being around Sokka was usually as easy as breathing, but this past week was really starting to test Zuko. After Azula’s party things returned to normal, which would have been fine if his entire world hadn’t shifted on its axis when Sokka almost kissed him that night. He was doing his best to just put it out of his mind, but Sokka wasn’t making it easy. Winter had officially settled in, bringing snow and bitter cold wind, and Sokka looked really cute in his furry hooded jacket, his ears and nose turning pink from the cold as they walked towards the Jasmine Dragon. _Get a grip, Sozin. This is your best friend. That’s all. Last week didn’t mean anything...Sokka just had too much drink and wasn’t thinking clearly._

A voice pulls him out of his thoughts. “Hey, are we...okay?”

“What? Oh, yeah,” Zuko says. “Why wouldn’t we be?”

Sokka fidgets with his backpack strap. “I don’t know. You’ve just been acting kinda weird this week, ever since Azula’s party. I just wanted to check.”

“Oh,” he says. “What do you mean?”

“I don’t know, like, you’ve been more quiet than usual, that’s all.” 

Zuko’s really not sure what to say, so he goes for, “I’m fine. Just stressed about college applications, I guess.”

Sokka nods. “I hear ya. Dad thinks I should go to school for engineering and I would probably be good at it, but it’s not really what I want to do.”

“What do you want to do, then?” Zuko asks. 

“Not sure. It’d be cool to do something with my art but I have no idea how that would work. Dad doesn’t seem to think it would make a very lucrative career for me.”

“I don’t know about that,” Zuko says. “You’re really talented, Sokka. You’ve definitely improved since we were kids.”

Sokka laughs and smacks Zuko’s arm playfully. “Thanks, jerk.”

They approach the Jasmine Dragon and Zuko opens the door, both of them sighing as the rush of warm air surrounds them.

Sokka continues. “I just wish I could show my Dad that it’s possible to make a career out of something you actually like doing. Maybe then he wouldn’t be hounding me about college applications every other day.”

“What if you did an art show?” 

Sokka stops at the suggestion and ponders it for a moment. “That’s actually...not a bad idea, Zuko.”

Zuko laughs. “Sometimes I can be the ideas guy, too.”

“Well, what about you? Any idea what you want to do after high school?”

Zuko thinks on it for a second before answering. “I’m not sure either, but I’ve always been interested in writing. Maybe I’ll be an author or something.”

“I could see that.” 

“I’ve never told anyone that before,” Zuko notes. 

Sokka smiles in return.

* * *

Sokka sits at the small desk in Zuko’s room, working on various drawings and other pieces for the art show. Iroh kindly offered to let them use the Jasmine Dragon for the show, noting that it would be a great opportunity to bring in customers, too. 

Zuko sits at his piano on the other side of the room, playing a light melody. Sokka had asked him to, on the pretense that it helps him concentrate on his drawings, but Zuko doesn’t mind. He’s not comfortable playing in front of people for the most part, but Sokka is definitely an exception. Outside, snow is falling lightly, but it’s warm inside the tea house (it always is...in more ways than one). 

He peeks over at Sokka periodically, smiling when he sees the look of concentration etched across his features. But mostly he just plays. Sometimes they talk too, about nothing in particular, as the hours stretch on. 

Later on, Zuko notices that Sokka’s gone particularly quiet, so he takes another look at him. The music stops abruptly when he sees what Sokka is holding - a small navy bracelet, braided with a silver clasp. The one Sokka had given him when they were kids, on that fateful spring day eight years ago. 

Sokka’s eyes meet his. His voice travels across the room, just barely above a whisper. “You...kept this?” 

Zuko can feel the heat rising in his cheeks and hopes Sokka doesn’t notice. “Yeah. You...you asked me to.” 

What he really wants to say is, _of course I kept it because you were my best friend and I’ve missed you so fucking much over the last eight years, and also I might be a little bit in love with you. I think I always have been._ But Zuko doesn’t say any of that. Instead, he turns back to the piano and hopes that it’s enough to hide the blush spreading across his face. 

* * *

The next morning, Zuko helps Iroh clean and set up the tea room for the show. They take down some of the paintings on the walls and Iroh begins hanging some of Sokka’s art pieces. After a while, Iroh speaks up.

“Zuko, is there something troubling you?”

The question pulls him out of his thoughts, and he realizes he’s been scrubbing the inside of a teapot a little _too_ hard. “Yeah, I’m...I’m fine.”

Iroh steps down from the step ladder and walks towards him. “You have not seemed like yourself this last week. I just want to check on you.”

Zuko sighs and puts the teapot on the counter to dry. “It’s nothing.”

Iroh smiles gently. “Come, let’s have some tea.” 

“Is that your solution to everything?” Zuko asks in frustration.

Iroh laughs. “No, but it certainly helps.”

The two of them sit at the counter as Iroh heats and pours tea for both of them. Zuko reluctantly takes it but can’t deny that he does feel more at ease after taking a few sips. 

“Now, Nephew,” Iroh says. “Tell me what is on your mind.”

Zuko sighs again, and holds the teacup between his hands, letting his thumb rub the warm ceramic. “I just. I think that….well. There’s this person.”

“A...person,” Iroh repeats.

“Yeah, a person...that I like.”

Iroh smiles knowingly. “Ah, I see.”

“And I don’t know if they like me, too. I think they might, but I also don’t want to say anything in case they don’t because...I don’t want to lose their friendship.”

“Hmm,” Iroh says as he nods, taking another sip of tea. “Love is very strange, Nephew. Sometimes it happens to you out of the blue, and sometimes it’s built on foundations of friendship first. I think that, whoever this is, if they are truly your friend, you don’t have anything to worry about, no matter if they feel the same way or not.” 

“But how do you...know? Like how do you know if it’s really love?”

Iroh smiles sympathetically. “Well, what does love mean to you, Zuko? Maybe think about that first, and I’m sure you will reach a decision. Opening oneself up to love can be daunting, but in the end, I think you’ll find that it’s worth it, when you have the right person to share it with.”

Iroh gets up and returns to his work of hanging art on the walls, leaving Zuko with his thoughts. 

_What does love mean to me? Taking care of each other. Looking out for one another. Feeling seen. Eyes meeting across a room and knowing what the other is thinking before they even speak. Music. Escaping to the tree house. Having each other's backs. Laughing together. Sharing food, and headphones. A soft kiss on my scar. A steady heartbeat and arms that hold me tight._

_Sokka._

* * *

The bell above the door rings as Sokka enters the Jasmine Dragon. His smile stretches wide across his face as he takes it all in - the shop was transformed. It was just as intimate and cozy as usual but now the focus was on his own artwork lining the walls. It was mostly drawings, character studies, portraits of his family, and his portrait of Yue. He threw in a couple of paintings from art class as well, just for some variety. But he’d saved his most recent piece for last, holding it gently under his arm as he walked inside. 

Iroh smiles generously at him and claps him on the shoulder. “So, Mr. Piandao, what do you think?”

“It’s amazing, Iroh. Thank you again for letting me do this here.”

“It’s nothing,” he says. “Any friend of Zuko’s is a friend of mine. I am happy to help. Zuko is upstairs changing right now but he’ll be down in a moment. Your guests will be arriving shortly, so I’m going to get started on some tea.”

Sokka nods at him and then gets work hanging the last drawing.

For his first art show ever, Sokka thinks he did pretty good. But no one is happier than Iroh, because he has a shop full of new patrons to serve tea to. All of their friends come too, and congratulate Sokka on his hard work. They hang out at a table near the front until Sokka notices his dad and Bato arrive. Zuko nods at him to go speak to them, and he takes a deep breath before doing so. 

The two men are standing in front of a drawing Sokka had done of his mother. Bato’s hand is gently rubbing Hakoda’s back, and when Sokka approaches, he can see that his father is crying. 

He sees Sokka and immediately pulls him into a hug. “Son, this is...it’s...incredible. I knew you liked art but I had no idea you were so talented.”

“Thanks, Dad,” he says, voice muffled against his father’s chest. 

Hakoda steps back and smiles. “Your mother would be so proud of you.”

Sokka smiles and nods. “I hope so.” 

Bato speaks up. “Sokka, these works are truly special. You could make a living doing this.”

“Yeah, well...that’s kind of the whole reason we put this show together. Zuko thought it might be a good idea for you to see what I was capable of, so that you could understand why I might want to do this instead of going to college for something I don’t really like.”

Bato smiles. “Zuko is a good friend. This was a great idea. Right, Hakoda?”

Hakoda reluctantly returns the smile and looks at his son. “I’m sorry, Sokka. I never meant for you to feel like I was pushing you towards something you didn’t want. I just want you to be taken care of, that’s all. But if this is what makes you happy, then - “

“It is,” Sokka says. 

“Then,” Hakoda continues, “I will do whatever I can to support you.”

Sokka can’t help the huge smile on his face as he gives his father another hug. 

* * *

He walks away and finds his friends in the back of the room, all surrounding a pair of portraits. He stops for a second before making his way over, because he knows exactly which ones they’re looking at. Aang is the first one to notice Sokka walking over, and he quietly motions for the others to join him as he moves away, leaving Zuko and Sokka alone.

On the left side is his Yue portrait. He’s fixed it up a little, adding some shades of blue for contrast and silver leafing around the edges. To the right of Yue's portrait hangs his most recent piece to mirror it. Its subject is portrayed from the shoulders up, left profile on display. Behind the figure is a compass, drawn in and detailed with gold leafing. And around the figure’s left eye, a scar. 

“So…” Sokka starts, putting his hands in his pockets. “What do you think?”

Zuko can’t seem to turn his eyes away from the portrait of himself. “It’s….” his voice trails off before he can finish the thought. Sokka looks at him, and swears he can see his eyes beginning to water.

“I’ve been working on it for a while, actually. I was trying to keep it a surprise.”

“Sokka, I don’t know what to say. It’s...beautiful.”

Sokka meets his eyes. “You don’t have to say anything.” 

He’d really just wanted to do something nice for Zuko, considering this art show was his idea in the first place. So he’d started thinking about making something for him, but had a hard time coming up with something that felt right. In the end, he went back to the poem Zuko had read to him earlier in the semester, and tried the same exercise again. As he read the poem, there was only one thing that came to his mind: _Zuko_.

Turns out, it was hard to concentrate on anything except for Zuko these days. They’d gotten so close since finding each other again. But Sokka would be lying to himself if he said he hadn’t thought about Zuko in a more serious way - as more than just his friend. But he didn't know if Zuko felt the same way. Sometimes it seemed like there was something there, bubbling up under the surface but he couldn't be sure. And he didn’t want to fuck up their friendship, after going so long without it. That really wasn’t something he wanted to experience again. All that really matters is that Zuko knows he cares about him and that he’ll be here for him no matter what. 

Sokka realizes that then that they’ve just been standing there, looking in each other's eyes for god knows how long, and he suddenly feels self conscious. 

Zuko looks like there’s something he wants to say, but then shakes his head. “I think...I need some fresh air.” 

And with that he walks away, but Sokka isn’t far behind him.

* * *

They don’t even put on their coats before they’re walking outside onto Main Street. Snow has begun to fall and Sokka has to walk quickly just to catch up with him. “Hey, Zuko wait up!”

Zuko keeps going.

Sokka sighs as he walks quicker, and holds onto Zuko’s arm to stop him. “Hey, what’s your problem?” 

Zuko won’t meet his eyes. “Nothing. I just need some air.”

“Then why won’t you even look at me, Zuko? What’s going on?”  
  


He doesn’t give an answer, just looks at Sokka as he seems to be trying to regulate his breathing. Sokka lets go of his arm and speaks more softly. “Zuko, you can tell me anything, you know that-”

“No, I can’t!” Zuko shouts.

Sokka's eyes widen at his reaction, but he speaks up again. “Something is wrong...I know it. Ever since Azula’s party you’ve been acting weird and I don’t think it has anything to do with college applications or any other bullshit like that.” 

“Sokka, please-”

“No!” Sokka says, raising his voice. “Whatever it is, just tell me and we can figure it out, okay? You’re my best friend, I don’t know why you won't let me help-”

“Because I have feelings for you, okay!” 

Zuko looks surprised at his own exclamation. There is nothing but the sound of cars driving by and snow falling softly around them.

Sokka’s stomach drops and he feels like he can barely breathe. “What?”

Zuko’s eyes are pleading and scared. “I wasn’t going to say anything because I wasn’t sure if you felt the same way, but then at Azula’s party when you almost kissed me, things changed-”

Okay, now Sokka _definitely_ can’t breathe. “Wait, WHAT?!”

Zuko continues, unsure. “At the party, after I told you about Jet, and my scar. We hugged, and then it seemed like you were about to kiss me, and I was going to stop you because you were drunk but then you got sick-”

Sokka’s mind is _reeling_. How could he have forgotten this?

“Why didn’t you say anything?!”

“I didn’t know what to do, okay!” Zuko shouts, his voice pained. “You didn’t remember and I didn’t want to make things weird, or worse...I can't lose you again, Sokka.”

Sokka can’t find the words to answer, or any words, for that matter.

Zuko pleads. “Please say something.”

What Sokka means to say is, _I can’t lose you either,_ or, _your friendship means the world to me and I won’t let anything stop that,_ or, _maybe I have feelings for you too,_ but all he says in reply is,

“I...I can't.” 

Zuko’s face falls.

His head hangs low and he takes a deep breath. “I’m such an idiot. I’m sorry, Sokka….just forget about it, okay? Tonight isn’t about me, it’s about you...I - we did this for you. And I just wanted you to have a good night. Let’s just forget about this. Please.” 

Sokka steps forwards and starts to lift a hand to reach out to him, but Zuko backs away. 

“Zuko, I’m sorry, you just caught me off guard, that’s all.” 

“It’s fine. I...I need to go back inside and help Uncle clean up. I guess...I’ll see you later?” 

“Okay. Yeah, that’s...fine. That’s fine, Zuko.”

Zuko walks back inside but not before taking one last glance at Sokka, standing alone on the sidewalk as snow begins to fall harder.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you've enjoyed reading this so far. And thank you for all the kudos and comments, they mean the world to me <3
> 
> Next chapter will be the last! On GOD we gonna get these boys a happy ending bro
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


	8. Eight

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is it, folks. Let's get these boys a happy ending, shall we?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Then looking upwards  
> I strain my eyes and try  
> To tell the difference between  
> Shooting stars and satellites  
> From the passenger seat as  
> You are driving me home
> 
> "Do they collide?"  
> I ask, and you smile  
> With my feet on the dash  
> The world doesn't matter  
> When you feel embarrassed  
> Then, I'll be your pride  
> When you need directions  
> Then, I'll be the guide  
> For all time  
> For all time
> 
> -Passenger Seat, Death Cab for Cutie

> **_9 Years Ago_ **
> 
> _Eight year old Sokka climbs the rungs of the tree house ladder, and smiles when he sees his friend already there. It’s dark out, and Zuko’s shining a flashlight on him._
> 
> _“Did you bring it?” Zuko asks eagerly._
> 
> _Sokka smiles wider as he whips around his backpack, and carefully takes out the telescope._
> 
> _“Woahhh, cool!” Zuko says. “Here, I’ll help you set it up.”_
> 
> _They make quick work of it, and point it out the tree house window towards a clearing in the woods where the sky would be most visible. Their teacher said there would be a meteor shower tonight, and immediately the boys came up with a plan to sneak out to the tree house with Sokka’s dad’s telescope so they could see it._
> 
> _It takes a few minutes, and Zuko starts to get anxious that nothing is actually going to happen, but Sokka pleads with him. “Just wait, okay? I don’t wanna miss it!”_
> 
> _Even at eight years old, Zuko knew it was near impossible to say no to Sokka._
> 
> _So they wait, and snack on some candy that Zuko brought, until eventually something catches their eye._
> 
> _“Look! There!” Sokka shouts._
> 
> _Zuko scrambles up to the telescope and peers out of it. “This is amazing!”_
> 
> _“Let me get a turn!”_
> 
> _He laughs and moves over so Sokka can look out, too. They really don’t even need the telescope to see the meteor shower - it’s so bright and brilliant in the night sky above them that Zuko can see some of the shooting stars reflected in Sokka’s eyes._
> 
> _“We should make a wish,” Sokka says._
> 
> _“Okay…” Zuko says tentatively. “For what?”_
> 
> _Sokka smiles. “You can’t tell anyone your wish or it won’t come true, dummy.”_
> 
> _Zuko playfully scowls at him but then takes a moment to think about it. What could he even ask for? He didn't need much. He felt pretty happy with the way things were, here at the tree house with his best friend in the world. Suddenly, it wasn’t so hard to think of something to wish for._

* * *

**_Present Day_ **

“Okay, I can’t take it anymore. _What_ is going on with you guys?” Suki asks.

Sokka settles into the desk next to her during their study hall period. He hasn’t spoken to Zuko since the art show, almost a week ago.

“Nothing. We’re fine.”

Suki rolls her eyes. “Clearly not. Something happened that you aren’t telling me. Sokka, you know you can tell me anything. You’re one of my best friends.”

Sokka slumps back in his chair and stares at the ceiling. “It’s just...complicated.”

“Hm,” Suki nods. “All I know is that Zuko left the art show without saying bye to us, and he hasn’t sat with us in home room _all week_. And you’ve been quieter, too, which is definitely out of character. So stop trying to act like nothing is going on. Just talk to me.”

“Can’t we just play staff stacking instead?”

“Sokka,” She says more sternly.

He raises a hand in defense. “Alright, alright, fine.” He closes his eyes and takes a deep breath. “At the art show, Zuko told me that he has feelings for me.”

A grin spreads wide across Suki’s face. “Sokka, that’s great!”

He shoots her a confused look. “Great?! He’s my best friend, Suki!”

Suki shakes her head in disbelief at him. “Yeah, and he _likes_ you. Don’t you like him too? I mean you guys are always together. And you seem happy when he’s around.”

“I am…I mean, I do like him, but not like that? Well, maybe like that. Ugh-” he pauses, rubbing his face in frustration. There’s also the fact that apparently they almost _kissed_ at Azula’s party, but he has no memory of it. Which doesn't help.

“I don’t know. I don’t know what’s going on with me, Suki.”

Her features soften and she speaks more gently. “It’s okay, Sokka. You’ll figure it out. You know, I tried to ask Zuko about it earlier this week.”

“And?”

“And he didn’t tell me anything. Just that he was trying to give you space, and he asked me to check on you. He’s a good friend.”

“Yeah,” Sokka says, smiling softly, “he is.”

* * *

The week had carried on in the same way: Zuko stopped sitting with them in home room. In biology class, Zuko sat in his usual seat next to Sokka but it looked like it physically pained him to do so. He didn’t speak a word to Sokka the entire time, pretending to focus on the teacher, but Sokka could tell by his body language that he was anxious, and the _second_ the bell rang, he was gone. 

At lunch, Zuko was nowhere to be found. Sokka tried not to let it bother him the first couple of days, but now it was starting to concern him and even Katara was starting to ask questions. 

Zuko was clearly just trying to give him space, but how long was this gonna go on? Yeah things were weird, but if Zuko didn’t want anything to change, then why was he avoiding him so much? 

That afternoon, Sokka closes his locker for the day and is startled by Toph, who’s standing behind the door with her arms crossed.

“Fuck - Toph you scared the shit out of me. I didn’t see you there.”

“I’m familiar with the sensation,” she deadpans. 

Sokka sighs. “Sorry. Did you...need something?”

“Uh, YEAH,” she starts. She uncrosses her arms and points a finger into Sokka’s chest, making him wince. “I need YOU to talk to Zuko.”

He speaks low. “We’re fine, Toph. Don’t worry about it.”

“Fine?!” She scoffs. “He’s been in the band room _every single day_ this week, Sokka. During lunch AND his study hall period. If I have to listen to him play Joni Mitchell one more time, I’m gonna lose it.”

“It’s nothing, Toph, seriously-”

“No, it’s not nothing, Sokka. I don’t know what’s going on, I mean, I can take an educated guess but at the end of the day it doesn’t matter. Zuko isn’t just your friend anymore. He’s our friend, too. And he’s...he’s hurting. And it’s because of you. So do whatever you need to do and _fix_ it.”

She doesn’t even wait for a response before turning and walking away from him. 

He knows Toph is right. He has to do _something_ , he just isn’t sure what. This entire situation is stressing him out and he has trouble keeping it together, snapping at Katara on the way home from school and even at poor _Bato_ during dinner. They all look at him with concern from their sides of the table and suddenly he can’t just sit there anymore, so he goes up to his room in a huff and falls face first onto his bed.

A few minutes later, the door creaks gently open, and Hakoda enters. “Sokka? Is everything alright?”

Sokka just sighs. He was tired of trying to pretend that he was fine. Plus, the person he would usually go to for help is the exact reason he’s in this position in the first place. He can’t quite find the words to answer his dad, so he just sits up and shakes his head. Hakoda gives him a sympathetic smile and comes over, sitting on the edge of the bed next to him.

“All week you’ve seemed...distant,” Hakoda starts. “It’s not like you to be so quiet, or irritable with us. I just want to help you however I can. I know Katara and Bato feel the same.”

“ _Shit_ , Bato…” Sokka says, sighing in frustration with himself. “I should’ve never snapped at him, that was so uncalled for-”

“It’s okay,” Hakoda says. “He’s not upset with you, Sokka. He just wants to make sure you’re okay.” 

“He’s a good guy,” Sokka notes.

“Yes, I think so too,” Hakoda says, smiling. 

“Dad, how did you...know? With Bato, I mean. Especially after losing Mom.”

“Hm,” he says. “Hard to say exactly. There wasn’t just one defining moment. It was many smaller moments that added up to something special. He was my friend, before anything else.”

Sokka nods, pieces of the puzzle starting to slide into place in his mind. Hakoda continues.

“When we lost your mother, I was very depressed. I know you were young, but I also know you to be one of the most perceptive people I’ve ever met, so I’m sure you noticed it, even then.”

“Sometimes, yeah,” Sokka answers truthfully. “Sometimes when you’d smile at us I could tell, it was like you were forcing it.”

“And I was,” Hakoda says, “for a long time. But then I met Bato, and I didn't have to try so hard anymore.”

Sokka sits with that for a moment, and Hakoda speaks up again. “What’s this about, Sokka?”

“...Zuko.” He says it so quietly, that he’s not even sure his dad heard him, but when he looks up, Hakoda is smiling at him gently.

“I see.”

“Something happened between us, at my art show. He...he told me that he has feelings for me and I just...completely froze. I didn’t know what to say.”

“What does your heart say, Sokka?” 

“I don’t know Dad, I mean...he’s my best friend. I care about him. I always have.” 

Hakoda looks solemn then. “I don’t know if I ever truly apologized to you, when we moved away. I knew you two were close but I had hoped it wouldn’t be too hard on you.” 

“It’s okay. I mean it was hard, but I guess it doesn’t really matter now that he’s back, right?” 

“Whether it matters or not is completely up to you, son. I feel confident that you will work this out. It’s clear to me that Zuko cares for you very much, and I’m sure he’ll continue to do so no matter what you choose. If you two could be this close, even after all that time apart, what you have must be very special.” 

Sokka nods. “Thanks, Dad.” 

Later, he tries to apologize to Bato, but can’t even finish talking before Bato’s pulling him into a big hug. Katara on the other hand, is never as easy.

He finds her in her room, snuggled in bed with a book. “Hey, Katara-”

“If you’re here to yell at me about something again, I’ll pass.”

He sits on the edge of the bed. “I’m here to apologize, jerk.”

“Your apologies need work.”

Sokka sighs and rubs his eyes. “Katara, come on. This has just been a shitty week, okay? I’m sorry. I never meant to take it out on you.”

She nods and closes her book, sitting up to look at him better. “You wanna talk about it?” 

“Honestly, no. But I’ve been keeping it to myself all week and it hasn’t helped so, maybe?”

“Is it about Zuko?” she asks.

“Yeah, wait- how’d you know?” 

“Sokka,” she says, rolling her eyes. “You’ve gone to the Jasmine Dragon almost every single day for months, except for this week. I haven’t seen Zuko at lunch all week, and you’ve been acting weird too. It’s not that hard to put two and two together.”

He wants to say something snappy in return but comes up short, his voice leaning towards sincere instead. “I don’t know what to do, Katara. I think I really hurt him.”

“But you guys have been friends for so long. I’m sure it’s not as big of a deal as you’re making it out to be.”

“It sure as hell feels that way,” Sokka says. “Zuko...he _likes_ me.”

She smiles at him. “And?”

“What do you mean, ‘And?’!” Sokka shouts. “Katara, this is _Zuko_ we’re talking about here.”

“I _mean_ ,” she says, “that I’m not surprised. I’ve seen the way he looks at you-” She pauses before continuing. 

“And...I’ve seen the way you look at him, too.”

Her words settle in the space between them and Sokka can feel his face getting hot. “What are you talking about?” he asks, voice shaking.

“Sokka, come on,” she says. “Are you really trying to tell me that the only thing you’ve ever felt for Zuko is friendship? After everything you guys have been through?”

“I don’t know, I...I don’t know what I feel anymore. Sometimes I think there’s something there but I’m not sure.” 

“Look, you guys are always together anyway. What would be so different if you were _together_ -together?” 

Somewhere in his mind, another puzzle piece shifts into place. “I don't know...I’m scared.”

“Of what?”

“I don’t want to lose another person, Katara. I already lost Yue and that was hard enough. I don’t want to lose him, too...I don’t think I could do that a second time.” 

Katara lays a hand gentle on his forearm. “Wouldn’t Yue want you to be happy?”

Sokka’s eyes close as the truth of her question washes over him. _Of course she would._ But would being with Zuko make him happy? Could he really make Zuko happy, the way he deserved?

 _What does happiness even mean?_ he thinks. _Music. Being understood. Feeling supported and cared for. Secret shared moments. The tree house. Knowing someone has your back. Laughing together. Sharing food, and headphones. A soft smile, just for me. Fingers dancing over the keys to a piano, playing a song just for me. Eyes golden like the afternoon sun, looking at me. Just me._

Zuko was always in the back of his mind during their years apart. Whenever he thought about the best parts of his childhood, somewhere in the periphery was Zuko. And for the times he wasn’t there, like when his dad got remarried, Sokka remembers wishing he could’ve told Zuko about it. And now, they’d only been back in each other's lives for a few months but it didn’t seem to matter at all...the foundation of love and trust was already there. It never left. 

When Sokka thinks about who he wants to be around the most, it’s Zuko. If he has a problem he needs help with, he turns to Zuko. When he hears a new song he likes, the first person he wants to share it with...is _Zuko_ . Zuko...who’s smart and kind and thoughtful and sarcastic and pretty and his _best friend_ and - _oh_. The final puzzle piece slots into place.

Zuko wasn’t avoiding him. He was _waiting_ for him. 

A tear escapes his eye that he didn’t know he was holding in. “Katara, I think I…” 

She smiles. “I know.” 

“What if I’m too late?”

“There’s only one way to find out.”

The next thing Sokka knows, he’s parking his car on Main Street, and running through the snow towards the Jasmine Dragon as fast as his feet will take him. 

* * *

**_One Week Earlier_ **

Zuko takes one last look at Sokka, who’s standing out on the sidewalk, no coat, face distraught. He internally berates himself as he goes back inside: _What have you done. You idiot..._

Out of the corner of his eye he sees their friend group watching him. Aang gets up and comes over to him first. “Hey, Zuko, is everything -”

“-It’s fine,” he says quickly, cutting Aang off. “I’m fine...I have to go help clean up.” 

He pushes past Aang and ignores the others calling after him, heading back into the kitchen as fast as possible. He feels like he’s going to be sick, so he grabs the edge of the counter and leans over the sink, willing his heart rate to slow down for one fucking second so he can figure out what to do. 

In the end his anxiety gets the better of him, and he doesn’t make it back out to the tea room before everyone leaves, which makes him feel even worse. 

That night, he tosses and turns in bed trying to think of what to even say to Sokka next, that is, if Sokka even wants to talk anymore. He takes out his phone multiple times and starts a new message, but can’t think of anything to say. He decides then and there to just give Sokka space, and wait it out. 

On Monday at school, he gets there early and chooses a different seat from where he usually sits with Sokka and Suki. He catches Sokka’s eye when the two of them come in a few minutes later, but Sokka doesn’t even nod, let alone say anything to him. 

The pit in his stomach just gets deeper.

Suki, on the other hand, waves to him and smiles. She’s clearly confused at his decision to sit elsewhere and he can’t blame her. It _is_ weird. 

After class, she stops him in the hallway. “Hey, Zuko - are you okay?”

He turns around and looks behind her to make sure Sokka isn’t around. “I’m fine, Suki.”

She gives him a skeptical look. “You haven’t sat apart from us in home room since your very first day here, Zuko. What’s wrong?”

Zuko rubs the back of his neck and sighs. “I can’t really say. I mean, it’s not just my problem to deal with.”

Suki nods knowingly. “Sokka.”

“Yeah...I think I may have really messed up, and I don’t know what to do.”

“Is there anything I can do?” Suki asks.

“Just check on him. You can try to ask him about it, I guess?” Zuko says. “He’s stubborn though, so good luck.”

Suki smiles. “Trust me, I know...I will, though.”

“Thanks Suki.”

He turns to leave, but not before Suki speaks up one more time. “Zuko?”

“Yeah?”

“I wouldn’t be too worried about it, okay? I know Sokka cares about you, a lot. He probably just needs some time.”

Zuko nods, and walks away, feeling a little more hopeful than before. 

But of course, that hope doesn’t last long as the week stretches on and Sokka continues to ignore him. It probably doesn’t help that he’s escaping at any chance he can, like visiting the band room during lunch to avoid sitting with Sokka and Katara. Toph isn’t too happy about it, but she lets him do it anyway. 

After a few days she gets impatient with him, and startles him by slamming a hand onto the piano keys while he’s playing.

“Alright, Sparky. Enough.”

“What?” 

“You’ve come in here every day this week. _Twice_ a day. Playing the same depressing song over and over again.”

“It’s not depressing!” he says, incredulous. “It’s...Joni Mitchell.”

“I really don’t care,” Toph says. “If you’re gonna come in here so much, at least give me a little variety.” 

Zuko sighs. “Is that all?” 

“Doesn’t have to be. We can either talk about what’s bothering you or you can find somewhere else to brood.”

Zuko rests his elbows on the keys, making a horrible disjointed sound. Resting his face in his hands, he sighs again. “What do you want to know, Toph? You seem to already know everything before I do, so what difference does it make.”

“It makes a difference because you’re my _friend_ , Zuko. Sokka’s been acting weird all week too and you just...seem more down than usual. And that’s saying something.”

“You don’t get it,” Zuko says. “When we were kids, Sokka was always on my side, even when things were bad. I could always count on him. But now I’ve done something really stupid and I may have messed up our friendship for good.”

“I don’t think so,” Toph says. 

“How do you know?” 

“Because ever since you came back into his life, you’re all Sokka can talk about.”

“Really?” 

“Yeah,” she smiles. “And it was kind of annoying at first. But he’s been so much happier with you around. It’s almost like...like it was before.”

“What do you mean?”

“Like with Yue, you big dummy.”

“Oh.” Zuko hadn’t thought about that.

Toph continues. “Look, I’ve known Sokka a long time now. He’s the most stubborn person I’ve ever met other than myself, but he’s also the most caring person I know. He would never do something to hurt you intentionally. He’s probably just freaking out and needs some time to think.” 

“You’re probably right. Thanks Toph.”

It’s then that Toph punches him in the arm. 

“Ow! What was that for?”

“It’s how I show affection,” she says. “And I’m _always_ right.” 

* * *

Apparently he wasn’t good at hiding his emotions at all, because on the way home from school even Azula brings it up. 

“So what’s your problem?”

“Nothing. I’m fine.”

Azula smirks, her long red nails tapping against the passenger door's handle. “Sure, Zuzu. You’re totally fine. Tell that to me again in 5 hours when you’re playing Mother's piano and brooding about your boyfriend again for the 6th night in a row.”

“Shut up, Azula.”

“Awww, struck a nerve, huh? Come on, Zuko. I’m not an idiot.”

Zuko’s hand grips the steering wheel tighter. “We’re not...he’s not my boyfriend.”

Azula shrugs. “Hmm. Too bad. He’s cute.”

He can feel the flush rising in his cheeks but doesn’t say anything. Azula continues.

“You could do a lot worse, you know. You have, actually.”

He knows she’s talking about Jet. He thinks back to her birthday party and the way she yelled in Jet’s face, for _him_ , and can’t help the small smile creeping across his face at the memory. 

* * *

Despite wanting to prove Azula wrong, Zuko can’t bring himself to do anything other than play his piano that night. He’s only got one light on and it’s kind of dark, but his curtains are open so he can watch the snow falling outside. 

A few minutes later, Iroh walks in and leans against the window, facing him. Zuko doesn’t look up from the piano, but continues to play. 

“Nephew, are you alright? I’ve been worried about you.”

“I’m fine,” Zuko says. “Can you please just leave me alone?”

“All week you have been more quiet than usual. And your friends haven’t stopped by the Jasmine Dragon even once.”

“Uncle-”

“Please, Zuko. Talk to me. Whatever it is, we can figure it out-”

Zuko hits the keys in frustration. “No, _we_ can’t do anything. This is all your fault to begin with!”

Iroh’s eyes widen at his sudden outburst. “What are you talking about?”

Zuko sighs, and runs a hand through his hair, turning on the piano bench to face Iroh. “You were the one who told me that I should be open about my feelings. And I did, or...I tried, and now everything’s fucked up.”

“Zuko, I don’t know what you - _oh_. This is about Sokka, isn’t it?” 

Zuko sighs again and rubs his temples, closing his eyes. “Yes. I took your dumb advice and told him how I felt and now he hates me. He’s barely spoken to me all week and I can’t believe I did that because now it’s all fucked up and I’ve lost him again and-” his voice shakes. “I’ve lost him, Uncle…”

Something behind Zuko catches Iroh’s eye. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that, Nephew.”

Zuko turns around to see _Sokka_ standing in the doorway. His cheeks are flushed and there’s snow in his hair and all over his coat. “Hey,” he says, out of breath. “Sorry to just show up like this. I just...can we talk?” 

At the sight of him, and the sound of his voice, Zuko feels like he can’t breathe. They’d only gone a week without speaking and Zuko can’t believe the relief that washes over him the second he hears Sokka's voice. How did they ever manage to make it eight years apart?

Zuko looks at Iroh, who simply smiles. “I will leave you two to talk. I need to go close up the shop anyway.” 

On the way out the door, Iroh pats Sokka on the shoulder. “It’s nice to see you, Mr. Piandao.”

Sokka smiles and nods as Iroh leaves, and shuts the door behind him. He takes his winter coat off and hangs it on the back of the door, before running a hand over his hair and wolf's tail to wipe off the snow. After a moment of hesitation, he walks over and sits on the edge of Zuko’s bed, right across from where Zuko sits on the piano bench. 

“I’m sorry I’ve been AWOL this week.”

Zuko holds the edge of the bench on either side of him, but still doesn’t look at Sokka, just down at their feet. “No, I’m sorry. I was trying to give you space. After what I did...I shouldn't have told you like that, at your art show. It was...out of line.”

“No,” Sokka says. “It wasn’t.”

Zuko looks up at him then, and Sokka’s eyes are sincere. 

“I didn’t mean to avoid you this week," he says. "I just wasn’t sure what to say. I didn’t mean to hurt your feelings, Zuko. I never have. I care about you too much.”

Zuko has no idea what to say. He can’t look at Sokka anymore, his mind is racing and his heart is beating too fast, and he feels like he’s going to be sick. So he turns back around, and starts to play lightly on the piano. 

When he feels like his breathing is back under control, he speaks. “I know. It...wasn’t your fault. Back when we were kids, I mean. Leaving me then was out of your control.” 

He wants to continue the thought aloud, but can’t seem to say it. _You have a choice, now. Are you sticking around this time?_

Sokka remains quiet, so Zuko just keeps playing, his hands shaking as he tries to keep up with the melody. On his right side, he senses movement as Sokka comes to sit down next to him on the piano bench. Zuko scoots over a little bit to give him room. His hands are shaking more now and he can feel the blush rising in his cheeks at their close proximity, but he continues to play. He can feel Sokka’s eyes on him, watching him intently, but he doesn’t look up from the keys. 

Quietly, and with as much bravery as he can muster, Zuko says, “I never thought we’d even see each other again, so I just don’t want to fuck this up. You’re...you’re too important to me, Sokka, and I-” He braces himself.

“...I _love_ you, even as just my friend, so I understand if you don’t want to be more than that, I just can’t lose you again and-” 

It’s then that Sokka’s right hand is on his, fingers tentatively curling around his own. Finally Zuko finds the courage to look up, and everything stops. There is nothing but the two of them in all the world. The snow is still falling outside the window, and it’s so quiet now that Zuko thinks he can hear his own heartbeat. 

After a moment, Sokka lifts his other hand to the right side of Zuko’s face, and holds it there, thumb caressing his cheek. _He looks so beautiful_ , Zuko thinks, brown skin soft in the low-light of his room, blue eyes searching his with an emotion that he can’t quite place. Then Sokka's eyes are hovering down, and before he knows it, Sokka’s lips are pressing against his. 

Zuko is stiff at first, in denial that this is really happening, that Sokka is _here_ and Sokka is _kissing him._ But slowly he melts, returning every bit of warmth Sokka is offering, the final piece to his puzzled heart settling into place. Sokka’s lips are so _soft_ and it’s intoxicating...Zuko’s dizzy with it and he doesn’t want to stop. After a few moments they pull apart but remain close, resting their foreheads together. He can just barely see Sokka smile, before he hears,

“I love you, too.” 

Sokka leans forward to kiss him again, but Zuko stops him. “Wait-”

Sokka’s blue eyes meet his with concern. “What’s the matter?”

Zuko brings his hand up to cradle Sokka’s face and smiles. “You’re not drunk again, right?” 

Sokka laughs in relief, his head falling to Zuko’s shoulder in embarrassment. “No, I’m not. Promise. It’s for real this time.” 

“Good,” Zuko says, his smile spreading wider. They should probably talk more, and it’s getting late, but none of that seems to matter when Sokka’s hand is in his, and he’s leaning over to kiss him again. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> .  
> .  
> .  
> .  
> Thank you SO MUCH to everyone who read this little story and left comments and kudos. I sincerely appreciate every single one of you <3
> 
> P.s. For those wondering, the Joni Mitchell song that Zuko plays in this one is "Blue." Here's an instrumental version to give you an idea: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JkVDDkesALA
> 
> come find me on tumblr @ marriedzukka :)


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